How do we create healthy communities?
A community’s health is not just determined by the genes of its members, but also by the circumstances of their daily lives. There is a direct correlation between an individual’s health and his surroundings. Healthy communities are those where everyone has equal exposure to training, safe and healthy living environment, suitable job and commuting, regular exercise and nutritious food, in addition to high-quality medical treatment and other services. (Jackson, 2011)
For a thriving community to emerge, a move away from a medical, individualized approach to healthcare is required in favour of an approach that addresses health from a societal and policy standpoint. This does not mean that consumers should be left out of the discussion when it comes to their personal health care. As a result, a person’s and the community’s health is a consequence of the external interaction and the judgments that individuals make as members of society. In order to have a healthy community, people must take responsibility for ascertaining their own needs and capacities, as well as for ensuring that public health, public programmes, and guidelines all work together to promote good health. This includes access to quality wellbeing care and other indispensable public health services. People from all walks of life are respected in a healthy community, and the achievements of those from varied backgrounds are viewed as important. A wide range of health-related factors are also taken into account and managed, allowing people to take charge of their own health by making well-informed decisions within the framework of health-promoting systems and processes. (Besleme, 1997)
How do we instigate change?
We have been through many phases of learning and success in our careers, from childhood and adolescence to maturity. Secondary and tertiary education also occur at various points throughout our life. Similar to this, our civilization undergoes several transformations. Human society has evolved from a technologically primitive culture to a contemporary one during the history of human civilization. Primitive foraging and collecting cultures developed into horticultural, agricultural, advanced manufacturing, and current post-modern civilizations. It’s difficult to distinguish cultural transformation from the societal shift, even if modifications in the tangible and non-material aspects aren’t seen to constitute social changes.
How do we bring everyone in a company, neighborhood, community, or city into agreement or buy-in?
A group dispersed throughout the country, or perhaps the world, might make it difficult to get individuals together. Investing bankers, online developers, animal rights enthusiasts, young ventures, or even urban producers might make up your neighborhood. A community can form wherever there are mutual interests. This might be solved by setting up a regular meeting place for community members. Event planning may be a powerful way to connect people again and develop long-lasting communities. It doesn’t matter how trivial or tiny our actions may appear; sharing something with others might help us forge connections we never imagined possible. Incorporating this notion into their work, public art initiatives, community development agencies, and institutions aim to bring communities together. (Rousseau et al., 2018)
References:
Besleme, K., & Mullin, M. (1997). Community indicators and healthy communities. National Civic Review, 86(1), 43-52.
Jackson, R. J. (2011). Designing healthy communities. John Wiley & Sons.
Rousseau, D. M., Hansen, S. D., & Tomprou, M. (2018). A dynamic phase model of psychological contract processes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(9), 1081–1098. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2284
