Which statement best describes the social and environmental factors that coexist with poverty?

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Poverty shapes health through a web of social and environmental factors, not just money. When resources are limited, people are more likely to live in substandard housing, struggle with inadequate nutrition, lack access to clean water, endure greater exposure to violence, and experience fragmented or unstable health care. These intertwined conditions raise the risk of illness and disability and make it harder to maintain ongoing, preventive care. That’s why the best description is that poverty coexists with multiple harmful conditions that collectively impact health and well-being, rather than being a single, purely economic issue.

Poverty isn’t just about income and it doesn’t affect health only through education, and barriers to care aren’t limited to one pathway. The other statements miss the breadth of how poverty shapes health—costs, access, housing quality, nutrition, water safety, and safety all play a role in health outcomes.