Creating Healthy Communities

Typically, a healthy community is defined as one in which all dwellers or residents have equal access to healthy nutrition, physical activities, transportation, adequate employment opportunities, secure homes, quality education, and safe and quality healthcare/medical services. On the other hand, unhealthy communities are harbingers of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Therefore, the best recommendation I would make to government officials and organizational leaders to improve community health is to address the key factors mentioned above that determine health or, in other words, the determinants of health.’ This includes growing and eating healthy foods (vegetables, fruits, nuts, and so on), creating parks and playing fields or outdoor spaces to encourage residents to exercise, supplying clean water, reducing neighborhood waste, and planting trees. Also, leaders and government officials should encourage residents to connect more with their neighbors and provide incentives for locals to switch to clean energy (Srinivasan, O’Fallon, & Dearry, 2003).

In terms of improving the delivery of care services, the care facility I work for should adopt new electronic data recordings systems, such as electronic health records (EHRs) and computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems. These systems allow healthcare providers to generate, store, and share patient data (such as lab tests and medication information) electronically, reducing medication errors and subsequently improving the quality of care and patient safety (King et al., 2014). Finally, in my opinion, everyone is responsible for making communities healthier and safer. It requires multi-sectoral collaborations between the various arms of the government (such as Congress), community members, health workers, and organizations (such as nurses, doctors, and hospitals), elected leaders (governors, members of parliament, senators), municipalities, companies and chief executive officers, and several other stakeholders.

References

King, J., et al. (2014). Clinical benefits of electronic health record use: national findings. Health Services Research, 49(1-2), 393-404. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12135

Srinivasan, S., O’Fallon, L. R., & Dearry, A. (2003). Creating healthy communities, healthy homes, healthy people: Initiating a research agenda on the built environment and public health. American Journal of Public Health, 93(9), 1446-1450. doi: 10.2105/ajph.93.9.1446

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