Healthcare inequities or limited access to affordable healthcare is still prevalent in communities around the world. And while making healthcare services more accessible to most, if not all, people around you may seem near impossible, you can still start on the micro-level, i.e., your local community. There are a few ways to achieve that even through relatively straightforward means, and this article highlights them. So, here are a few ways to improve health in your community.
- Work in an Administrative Role in the Healthcare Industry
If you’re already working in the healthcare industry and want to do more to help improve access to affordable healthcare around you, it may help to seek an administrative role. For example, running a healthcare facility, like a clinic or local hospital, can help you make decisions that are geared toward reducing the prices of specific services while still maintaining a high quality of service.
Of course, you’ll need the necessary qualification to do just that, and pursuing a higher education degree is a crucial step in that process. Individuals possessing higher education degrees serve as pillars of knowledge, enhancing the community in various ways. Through their expertise and accomplishments, these degree holders can inspire others and bring meaningful change.
If you want to be that person but don’t quite have the time to juggle a full-time job and a master’s degree, consider online education. Online education has significantly risen in the digital age, offering another viable pathway to higher education. For example, people can pursue a degree like a Master of Health Administration online. This allows them to acquire specialized knowledge while appreciating the flexibility and convenience of digital learning.
- Enhancing Parental Involvement in Healthier Living
The impact of parental involvement in healthier living cannot be overstated. It forms the foundation of a child’s physical and mental health that can help them stay healthy and happy as they move toward adulthood.
This involvement spans a spectrum of activities that parents can engage in. The first of these is maintaining regular communication with their children’s doctors and dentists. This way, parents can ensure their kids get preventative care and are consuming a healthy diet.
Another thing to keep in mind is that leading by example can encourage your kids to develop and maintain healthy habits. Eat healthy, sleep on a fixed schedule, and be physically active—this will help in the long term.
It also helps to be involved in their children’s school life to determine how they’re socializing with others. You can also know how active they are in sports and other games to ensure that they’re doing something to stay as fit and healthy as possible.
- Advocating for Better Health Policies
Healthcare policies play a crucial role in shaping the quality of services and their access to the general public. As members of a community, people have a say in these policies. By advocating for better policies, communities can influence critical decisions that affect their livelihoods.
Advocacy could include campaigning for it to be mandatory for school cafeterias to serve nutritious meals to their students. In addition, if you’re working in the healthcare industry, you and your colleagues can petition to make the cost of preventative care to be as low as possible. Restrict it to only the most common healthcare problems first to make it financially viable for your healthcare facility. That way, you can actively work toward a healthier community.
- Supporting Local Libraries
Libraries are much more than buildings filled with books; they are community centers for learning and intellectual growth. Free access to many resources is vital in promoting literacy and lifelong learning on various subjects, including health and wellness. You can collaborate with libraries to ensure they have a comprehensive collection of material on health that can be understood by most people—not just healthcare professionals.
Supporting local libraries can take many forms. Fundraising events, for example, can raise money for new resources and facilities. Community members can also donate books or offer their time as volunteers to help with various library tasks. Beyond this, promoting library resources can enhance community engagement and offer broader learning opportunities to community members of all ages.
- Building Partnerships with Local Businesses and Industries
When healthcare facilities and local businesses unite, health and fitness in communities can grow together. For example, your healthcare clinic can collaborate with fitness centers in your area. Thus, through this collaboration, you can offer your patients with weight issues discounted rates for memberships to these centers. In such cases, both your facility and theirs benefit, all while helping improve health and wellness in your community.
- Promoting Lifelong Learning on Caring for Your Health
Lifelong learning is the self-motivated pursuit of knowledge for personal health and happiness. By fostering a culture of continuous learning on health and wellness matters, communities can stay up-to-date in an ever-evolving world.
A practical way to promote lifelong learning is by offering adult education programs, such as night classes or online courses, that provide learning opportunities for all ages. Informative events, such as seminars, workshops, or lectures, foster lifelong learning. Creating a culture that values continuous learning on health, fitness, and wellness is a surefire way to keep a community healthy.
- Create a Community Health Challenge
You can help create a community health challenge that involves members of all demographics. A communal activity like this can help bring light to the importance of eating healthy and staying physically fit while also being a fun social activity that can create a sense of unity among all community members. It can be something as simple as cycling through the city together.
Conclusion
Improving health and wellness in a community is a joint venture that requires the concerted effort of all stakeholders. Every step, whether enhancing parental involvement in healthier living or advocating for better healthcare policies, holds significance in crafting a conducive environment for healthy living. So, let’s begin this journey of health and wellness transformation today for a brighter and happier tomorrow.
