An interview with Jia Hu
Housing and social connection as intersecting social determinants of health.
Housing is a recognized social determinant of health, and so is social connection. However, so often, our siloed systems fail to work within the intersection of health, housing, and connection.
Jia Hu, Medical Lead for the Prevention and Health Promotion, Population and Public Health team at the BC Centre for Disease Control, speaks to this lack of cross-sectoral accountability in our short interview.
“There are so many different and excellent initiatives that promote social connectedness and therefore promote health. But the big question is, how do we scale these initiatives up? How do we show their value to the health care system to really drive continued growth and expansion?”
Background
This interview is part of a collection of interviews emerging from Living Together 2025: Connecting housing, social health, and resilience.
Living Together 2025 was a two-day ‘collective action’ symposium that convened over 200 housing experts, public health professionals, municipal planners, architects, place-based community organizations, emergency management professionals, senior government policymakers, academics, and students.
We are deeply grateful to the many attendees who took the time to share their reflections and insights in brief interviews. From student research assistants to housing operators, policymakers, and public health practitioners, these voices capture the rich diversity present at the symposium.
