How do you assess if your community is healthy

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Explanation: Healthy Community

A healthy community goes beyond quality medical care and is reflected in the social and environmental factors that promote well-being. It is a place where all are free from discrimination and oppression and there is equitable access to the resources needed for optimal health. A healthy community is dependent not only upon the genetics of its residents, but also upon the environment within which those individuals live.

Here are following consideration to assess if your community is healthy:

• Quality education

• Adequate and safe housing

• Employment opportunities and job skills training

• Access to public transportation

• Recreational opportunities

• Health education and access to health care

1. Quality Education

Quality education, from preschool to higher education, is the foundation upon which future success is built. However, access to quality educational programs is often lacking in poorer communities due to a weaker tax base and a disparity of resources based on socioeconomic status. School buildings tend to be older and in poor repair and the environment surrounding the school may not be conducive for learning (crime, violence and environmental hazards).

2. Adequate and safe housing

Housing forms an indispensable part of ensuring human dignity. "Adequate housing" encompasses more than just the four walls of a room and a roof over one’s head. Housing is essential for normal healthy living. It fulfills deep-seated psychological needs for privacy and personal space; physical needs for security and protection from inclement weather; and social needs for basic gathering points where important relationships are forged and nurtured. In many societies, a house also serves an important function as an economic center where essential commercial activities are performed.

Unsafe and substandard homes put a person at risk for illness or accident. Studies have found that asthma rates are higher for children living in substandard housing. Contributing factors include: poor ventilation, pest infestation, and mold resulting from water leaks. A person’s health can be a reflection of the health of his/her home.

3. Employment opportunities and job skills training

There’s a point in our lives where we look for greater purpose in the things that we do, especially when it comes to our employment. We begin to ask ourselves why we do it and who we do it for.

4. Access to public transportation

Transportation impacts a person’s life, economics and health. Adequate transportation is often a prerequisite for accessing healthcare, employment, grocery stores and recreations facilities as well as being socially connected to the community. However, groups of people experience a transportation-disadvantage or the inability to obtain their own transportation. These groups include the elderly, low income persons, people with disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities. Unsafe streets and highways also present health issues for people who walk or cycle as their means of transportation.  

5. Physical/Recreational Activities

Regular physical activity and weight management are important components for the prevention of chronic disease and for improvements in overall health. ) Specifically, regular physical activity helps to reduce the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol and has been shown to have a positive impact on pulmonary function. Obesity has also been linked to chronic diseases, especially diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, cancer and pulmonary compromise and has been identified as one of the most modifiable risk factors for chronic disease. People are more likely to be physically active or to maintain a healthy weight if they live in a community which supports physical activity and healthy eating.

Community conditions that support physical activity include well lit streets, sidewalks that are in good repair, low crime rates and traffic, a lack of graffiti, walking and biking trails, parks and recreational facilities (Evenson et al., 2007, others). Children who live in poverty are more likely to be obese when compared to children who live in higher socioeconomic status families

6. Health education access to health care

Access to health care and health education are important pieces of a healthy life. hout health insurance, people lack a usual source of care, are twice as likely to delay health care due to cost, and more likely to go without prescription medication. People who lack health insurance are more likely to be hospitalized for avoidable conditions. Communities that do not have a public transportation infrastructure limit access to medical care for people who do not have their own transportation, especially if physician practices are not evenly dispersed throughout the community.