The minute you are born, you navigate through this world by cultivating relationships. Being part of a community means that you will inadvertently influence each other. Positive social habits allow more robust support systems and a healthier mental and physical lifestyle.
This need is the reason we need to create compelling social patterns to benefit the community. If these don’t get implemented right away, society will collapse on itself. Therefore you need to understand your role as a social health worker. Here’s a list of steps that will help you create effective social health initiatives:
- Awareness. It is essential to understand and spread awareness. Understanding includes identifying social risks such as spiraling into depression and why there is a need to know what social health is. If you want to have large-scale social health awareness, it is best to collaborate with health organizations and NGOs. Keep seminars and workshops to educate the population. Post videos online to reach a wider audience. Your awareness will also help connect people. Social connections help boost and protect life.
- Get Active Together. It is a good idea to cultivate active habits together. Go for an exercise with a group of friends and family. Create safer space for pedestrians by making signboards and urging lower speed limits for cars. Extend your support by participating in plans for building walking paths and sidewalks. Encourage exercise programs that are affordable to operate in your area and throughout the community. Ask schools to initiate and include more wellness programs. Physical activity is the hallmark of healthy social habits. The more you encourage them, the more beneficial the community’s lifestyle will be.
- Learn More. You will need to educate yourself further on social health initiatives. You can join healthcare organizations and pursue strategies that focus on clinical care for improving social care initiatives. You can join many online courses, such as an online MSN FNP program, and lend your support from family care frontlines. As a nurse, you will meet many patients who will need your help in improving their social health from a clinical perspective. With your knowledge, you can even join caregiver support groups and exchange techniques with different caregivers, and discuss the obstacles in providing sufficient care.
- Look For Funding Partners. Even if you join a hospital, it is not enough to tackle social health problems. As a social health worker, you should find funding partners who are willing to work with you. Many corporate partners are looking to align their corporate values to help reshape lives. When you can short-list partners meet with them and channel their resources into a social wellness program. This search may take time, but the rewards are very fruitful.
- Create Sustainable Goals. It is essential to identify what you wish to achieve with these programs. Most social health initiatives are long-term cases and will take significant time to overcome. Goals help you determine what health issues need immediate addressing and the utilization of most of your resources. Develop strategies and don’t stall in achieving them.
- Always Keep Track Of The Progress. When working on improving social health issues, it is vital to keep track of the progress you’ve made. This tracking helps you see where you could use improvement and where there was a positive impact on the community. You can use various databases that help you share and keep data with your team and healthcare organizations. It also makes it easier for them to stay updated. You won’t have to draft separate reports for them, sparing yourself extra work.
- Recruit Members. A diverse group of people manages a successful social health program. Their diversity helps in exchanging ideas and expertise. This diversity will help you identify what each community is struggling with and how far they have progressed. You can also safeguard your workers interested by developing an alliance such as allied health workers to help the community.
- Conduct Quarterly Community Health Assessments. After successful implementation, it is crucial to conduct quarterly meetings and discuss these wellness programs’ initiation. Exchange ideas on how you can further improve them and attract more sponsors for better funding and resources.
What Are Social Determinants?
To understand the importance of a social wellness program, it is also essential to understand the challenges. Unless you know what you’re up against, it is hard to form a sustainable plan to tackle these issues. Here’s a list of social determinants that need addressing:
- Economic Instability. There is a need to understand that due to poverty, the community cannot purchase essential products. They are unable to find nutritious food and pay their rent. They have insatiable jobs and need help with funds to get back on their feet.
- Less Education. Most vulnerable community members cannot complete their high school education, much less look at college for advancing their degree. This lack of education makes it difficult for them to find good jobs and provide for themselves.
- Inaccessible Healthcare. These communities can’t access proper healthcare due to being far from hospitals or not having insurance. As a result, they can’t look after themselves when they cause low-risk diseases like the flu. They are also susceptible to recent disease outbreaks and suffer immensely without adequate care.
- Unsafe Neighborhoods. They are unable to look after themselves while living in violent neighborhoods. There is an increase in criminal activities such as robberies, and tenants face a lack of security.
Conclusion
There is a need to understand social health issues and take measures to prevent them. Spread awareness and help the community understand why their health is essential. Find ways to do activities with the community and find relevant sponsors to fund these programs. Pick up online courses and brush up on your knowledge for better wellness programs.
Design sustainable programs and keep track of the progress. Finally, understand social determinants such as economic instability, lack of education, inaccessible healthcare, and unsafe neighborhoods. This knowledge will help you look after the community and resolve social health issues for a better tomorrow.
