{"id":2806,"date":"2008-11-06T18:44:12","date_gmt":"2008-11-07T01:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/?p=2806"},"modified":"2008-11-28T21:15:01","modified_gmt":"2008-11-29T04:15:01","slug":"yes-we-can-improve-the-health-of-our-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/2008\/11\/06\/yes-we-can-improve-the-health-of-our-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Yes we can… improve the health of our communities."},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a wonderful video clip<\/a> from the fantastic PBS series “Unnatural Causes… is inequality making us sick?<\/a>” One of the episodes, “Becoming American<\/a>” was screened last night at the Ashe Cultural Center. I was one of the panelists that took questions about health inequalities at a community forum last night after the screening.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

The website for the series<\/a> is an incredible resource for anyone interested in income, race, immigration, housing, and the myriad of issues that influence our health. In particular, I liked the suggestions to how individuals can make strides in their own communities toward improving health. As a country, we showed we are ready for change… here are some suggestions on how we can start in our own backyards.<\/p>\n

Research has shown that health is more than healthcare, behaviors, and genes\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat the social
\nconditions in which we are born, live and work actually get under the skin as surely as germs
\nand viruses do. What can we do to help reframe the nation’s debate over health and to address
\nthe root causes of our devastating socio-economic and racial health inequities?<\/p>\n

Here are a few ideas you can use to get started and encourage others to become
\ninvolved in working towards health equity:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Identify and connect people interested in the root causes of health inequities.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Organize a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153brown bag\u00e2\u20ac\u009d screening to discuss how social conditions\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhere we
\nare born, live, work and play\u00e2\u20ac\u201dimpact health.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Form a committee to identify assets, programs, or initiatives within your
\norganization where you can use the series to educate, organize or advocate for
\nhealth equity.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Screen and discuss the series with PTAs, book clubs, neighborhood associations,
\nchurches, tenants groups, racial justice groups, and trade unions.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Identify three existing struggles in your community that can improve health equity,
\ne.g., land use, a living wage, paid sick leave, affordable housing mandates, toxic
\nclean-ups, lead paint removal, etc. How can you become a partner?
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Conduct an audit of health threats and health promoters in your neighborhood.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Identify and build strategic partnerships with community-based organizations and
\norganizations in other sectors; link health outcomes to housing, education,
\nemployment, political power and other arenas.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Form a community-wide health equity coalition.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Ask your public health department to conduct a Health Impact Assessment (HIA)
\non proposed development projects and government initiatives and ordinances.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Provide local media with facts and resources so they can incorporate a health
\nequity lens in their reporting; help them identify a message point person to provide
\nquotes, analysis and additional information.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Broaden the discussion: look for opportunities to submit op ed articles, letters to
\nthe editor, call in to radio talk shows, and form discussion groups.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Organize a policy forum to brief officials in government agencies about the social
\ndeterminants of health inequities.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Paul came with me to the event last night (he was impressed that I managed to only use the phrase ‘epidemiologic assumption’ once) and regretted not having a video camera there. That can only mean that at some point in the evening, I picked my nose or something.<\/p>\n

In lieu of my comments from last night, I’m listing a few of my thoughts based on the screening, the questions panelists were asked, and my comments…<\/p>\n

— We should be very concerned about the mental health of the Latino youth in New Orleans. Statistically, their risks of mental illness far outweighs any other group in the city — and the risk factors we know to trigger illness in this group exist for them here in spades.<\/p>\n

— What can we do, as a community, to create public, multiracial spaces?<\/p>\n

— How can we advocate for better city transportation?<\/p>\n

— What can be done to attract health researchers back to New Orleans?<\/p>\n

All of these things are on the radars of the many community activists and organizations that are working to rebuild a better community here… but as anyone who works in community organizing and nonprofits understands, the strides made are more likely baby steps.\u00c2\u00a0 Can massive overhauling really occur?<\/p>\n

Here is one community project that I think is great example of a fantastic step: The Hollygrove Market<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 We have not been able to pick up the weekend box, but just knowing it is there for us and available in a neighborhood where food markets are scarce, makes me feel that maybe it is possible to create a healthy city in the midst of poverty and destruction?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a wonderful video clip from the fantastic PBS series “Unnatural Causes… is inequality making us sick?” One of the episodes, “Becoming American” was screened last night at the Ashe Cultural Center. I was one of the panelists that took questions about health inequalities at a community forum last night after the screening. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[39,98,115],"tags":[128],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2806"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3041,"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806\/revisions\/3041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}