Community: Importance in Public Health
Community is where you are.
It is not only the systems & built environment around us, but also the connections we have with others.
These all have tremendous impacts on ones health.
Life expectancy varies by where someone lives.
This variation occurs across the country and can be more drastic at the zip code level within a specific geography.
Place and community are a large part of social drivers.
Just to show how drastic this could be.
Data from the CDC highlights, that two neighboring communities 10 miles apart experienced a 33 year difference in life expectancy.
This is known by some as the “zip code effect” and can be seen all throughout the US.
The reasons these disparities exist are due to systemic, structural and social factors.
Factors like:
- transportation barriers
- poor air quality
- gun violence
- poor quality education
- recreation injustice
- food insecurity
- lack of access to health
- substance misuse
- lack of community resources
These factors put communities at greater risk for chronic conditions & premature death.
There also tends to be greater lack of political
know-how and will for communities to advocate for their interest.
You can help in your community through awareness and advocacy.
There is also a strong tie between sense of community belonging and self-rated health.
Greater feelings of support, connection and inclusion leads people to live longer and respond better to stressors.
Scientific evidence indicates that having high-quality relationships and feeling socially connected is associated with decreased risk for all-cause mortality as well as a range of disease morbidities.
Look at ‘Advancing social connection as a public health priority in the United States’ for more on this.
In a study using the Canadian Community Health Survey,
Strong sense of belonging was associated with higher reported physical and mental health.
Building better communities and having more of a community are two paths for healthier communities.
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Links and further readings:
- Community on National Public Health Week
- ‘Advancing Social Connection as a Public Health Priority in the United States’ – NIH by Dr. Holt-Lunstad, Dr Robles, and Dr. Sbarra
- Relationship between sense of community belonging and self-rated health across life stages’ – NIH by Camilla A. Michalski, et al.
- Zip Code Effect: Neighborhood Can Affect Life Expectancy by 30 Years – Blue Zones
- 10 States with the lowest life expectancies – AARP
- Socially Connected Communities: Solutions for Social Isolation – Healthy Places By Design
