Sixty-two percent of Americans say they are very concerned about their health, according to a survey conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NPR and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. It’s unsurprising that those who express the most concern are most vulnerable, underserved, and lacking economic means and educational gains.
By contrast, the survey revealed, those who rank their health high and are economically stable are likely to have more control over their health. The more control, the more effort people put into improving their health.
Health is a matter of individual, community and national priority. The factors that contribute to our health remain a part of daily conversations at home, work, school and where we worship. A healthy life begins in childhood, and factors such as child abuse or neglect, lack of high-quality medical care, personal behavior, viruses/bacteria, stress and environmental pollution increase the risk of illness and premature death.
But additional threats identified by underserved Americans include living in segregated neighborhoods, where there is often less access to health-care facilities, quality education, full-service grocery stores and recreational outlets.
Many studies describe the influences of community structures on the chronic stress that many racial, ethnic and lower socioeconomic groups experience. We have witnessed the recent devastation of communities lacking equitable social, economic and policy structures.
The factors that prevent low-income communities and communities of color from accessing health care also prevent them from accessing other valuable resources that decrease the risk for poor health. Poor-quality housing, limited public transportation, high crime rates, and other socially disrupted conditions reduce sense of community, access to health care and the ability to manage chronic diseases properly.
Children suffer the most damaging effects of these inequities. Poor childhood experiences and exposures can lead to poor adulthood outcomes, as the unhealthy circumstances that negatively affect children have a similar impact on adults and lead to concentrated poverty and unhealthy communities.
We know that eating fruits and vegetables, reducing stress, limiting consumption of fast food, alcohol, sports drinks and sugar-sweetened beverages will help to improve health. On a broader scale, however, the environments we live in should offer access to healthy food, reduced exposure to drugs, less environmental pollution, greater access to quality medical care and more economic opportunities through jobs.
We need a greater emphasis on improving our social, economic and living environments so that all Americans can be healthy from childhood to adulthood.
Data is taken from the “What Shapes Health” survey conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NPR and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. For more information, visit the foundation’s website, www.rwjf.org.
Keon L. Gilbert, DrPH, MA, MPA, is an assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral Science & Health Education at Saint Louis University’s College for Public Health & Social Justice and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) New Connections grantee. Keith Elder, PhD, MPH, is chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy at Saint Louis University’s College for Public Health & Social Justice, and an RWJF New Connections alumnus.
