KCPH: It’s National Public Health Week

Centering and Celebrating Cultures in Health is the theme for April’s National Public Health Week. The observance runs from April 3 to 9 and features daily themes.

Monday: Community

Community is where we are. It’s our connections with others who share similar interests, attitudes and goals. Over the past few years, those connections have been greatly affected. Physically distancing from one another and limiting communal gatherings can lead to social isolation, increasing rates of depression, impaired immunity and premature mortality. These outcomes are even worse for and in marginalized communities. 

The political climate has also weakened the connections between communities. Debates over access to health care and funding strategies have distanced communities from one another. This makes communication and cooperation extremely difficult. 

There are also other conditions in our communities that impact our health and well-being called social determinants of health. People living just a few blocks apart may have very different life expectancies because of the safety of the neighborhood they live in or the quality of their schools. Transportation barriers and lack of health insurance can limit access to health services. 

This can increase the risk of harmful health behaviors like skipping medication or postponing care. Having to travel long distances to access nutritious foods is linked to food insecurity. This puts communities at higher risk for chronic conditions, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. There are also negative environmental health conditions like poor air quality that can result in cancer and lung and heart diseases. 

Tuesday: Violence Prevention

National data show gun-related deaths are on the rise: in 2020, the U.S. was home to 19,384 homicides and 24,292 suicides involving guns. Those numbers are the highest documented levels in a decade. About one in three women and one in four men experience some form of intimate partner violence, and one out of every four American women has been the victim of rape or attempted rape. In 2020, 618,000 victims of child abuse and neglect were reported to local officials. Not all communities face the same rates or kinds of violence. 

Wednesday: Reproductive and Sexual Health

When people receive quality reproductive and sexual health care, education and access, they can fulfill a happier and healthier life. The lack of inclusive and accessible reproductive and sexual health care and education negatively affects everyone, but marginalized communities carry a greater burden of harm. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. 

Thursday: Mental Health

Mental health is important at every stage of life. It continuously affects how we think, feel and act. It also plays an important role in our physical and social well-being. In the U.S. alone, millions of Americans are affected by a mental illness. Anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders and depression are some of the most common.  

In fact, one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness each year. For minority populations, these rates are even higher. Indigenous people in America report experiencing psychological distress 2.5 times more than the general population over a month’s time. Transgender people are nearly four times as likely as cisgender people to experience a mental health condition. 

Cases of mental illness have recently risen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rates of anxiety, depression and substance use disorder have increased, particularly for communities of color. In fact, symptoms of depression were reported 59% more frequently by Hispanic adults than non-Hispanic white adults.

Friday: Rural Health

Fourteen percent of Americans live in rural areas. Rural Americans have higher rates of cigarette smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes. Compared to urban residents, they are at higher risk for poor health outcomes because of the range of health disparities they face.  

Racial/ethnic minorities and tribal groups are at higher risk for poor health outcomes, compared to non-Hispanic white adults. These health disparities include poverty, food deserts, exposure to specific environmental hazards and less time for leisurely physical activity. 

People living in rural areas have less access to health care because of fewer providers and facilities and more transportation barriers. They are also not as likely to have health insurance. These factors play a part in the greater risk of death from heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease and unintentional injury from motor vehicle crashes and opioid overdoses that rural residents face.

Children living in rural areas also face greater challenges with their development, mental health and behavioral health. 

Saturday: Accessibility

About 26% of U.S. adults have a disability, although Native Americans and senior citizens are disproportionately affected by disabilities. Adults with disabilities are also more likely to have heart disease, be smokers and have diabetes than the general population.

To move toward health equity, it’s critical we recognize that people with disabilities are facing health disparities. One in three adults with disabilities does not have a primary care health provider, and one in three adults with disabilities has unmet health care needs due to financial cost. Since the passing of the Affordable Care Act, uninsured rates have decreased by not disappeared. 

Sunday: Food and Nutrition

Food and nutrition are at the core of many public health concerns, from chronic disease to climate change. In 2021, 10.4% of Americans (33.8 million people, including 9.3 million children) lived in households that experienced food insecurity, meaning they lacked access to adequate nutritious foods. Children need a balanced diet to grow into healthy adults and long-term food insecurity can lead to serious illness, such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and mental health issues. Food-insecure families also face difficult decisions like choosing between buying groceries or paying for health care.