Tuesday, April 7, 2009

You are where you live

Our roads. Our air. Our food options. Our water. Our sidewalks. Our local laws. Our transportation options. Our schools. Our access to health services. Our social support.

Each of these elements within our communities — or sometimes the lack thereof — plays a significant role in whether or not we’re able to eat healthy, be physically active, breathe freely or get preventive care. They help determine whether or not we’re healthy.

On the second day of National Public Health Week, as we focus on the role that where we lives plays on our health, it’s a good time to think about how we get the word out. How do we make sure that people understand that simply providing health insurance to all Americans isn’t enough to make us healthy? How do get our family, our neighbors, OUR COMMUNITY, to demand that we invest in ensuring that the places we live are supportive of our health?

The Healthiest Nation in One Generation video makes the case and one way to get the word out is to make sure as many people as possible have a chance to see it.

Another great opportunity is to contact your legislators. Make sure they know that their constituents want to ensure that public health is the foundation of health reform.

What other ideas do you have for helping our communities understand that health involves more than just individual behaviors and health care?

2 comments:

Katelyn Mack said...

I'm looking forward to promoting this on my public health blog, as well. It's amazing how many people think of public health just as something that takes place in hospitals and clinics or for Medicare/Medicaid. This is a great way to highlight how health is not just about seeing a doctor, but about every day life. Health is affected by who we know, what we have, where we live, and what we do. Go National Public Health Week!

anci said...

The article is very interesting, giving a lot of inspiration for this beginners.
Thank you for sharing with us, continue your great work and good luck.