With several recent and ongoing projects in the world of WELD, we’re looking for ways organizations can use the Internet and new technology to positively influence the quality of life factors associated with health and wellness. The good news, simply put, is that there’s great potential for these new digital platforms and channels to be applied in ways that educate about health choices, empower people to take charge of and better monitor their own health, and facilitate communication (and thus, hopefully, insight and progress) among healthcare providers and their partners.
And we’re only just getting started.
In future posts, we look forward to telling you about our work with The Center For Rural Health at the Marshall University School of Medicine and companies such as beBetter Health. But today, we hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch the accompanying video and learn about REACH West Virginia.
REACH (which stands for Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Across West Virginia) is an initiative aimed at eliminating the disparities in quality of life indicators between the minority groups of the Mountain State and the rest of the population. The statewide effort is part of a larger, national movement spearheaded by the Center for Disease Control and its Office for Minority Health and Health Disparities.
When you look at the numbers, there is a stark difference.
African-American residents of West Virginia, for example, have nearly twice the proportion of people living in poverty compared to white residents. Minority women are less likely to seek pre-natal care and experience premature births. There is also a greater prevalence of heart disease and strokes among West Virginia minority populations. Diabetes is perhaps the most glaring issue here.
What do you do about it?
The REACH approach is to address the “Social Determinants of Health.” It makes sense that, if we look closely at basics such as access to nutritious food, housing, economic opportunity, positive social relationships, good education and healthcare, even how easy it is for people to get around, we can have an impact on the length and quality of people’s lives.
So, coalitions are activating and motivating in Fayette, Kanawha, McDowell, Mercer and Raleigh counties with the objective of closing the gaps they find in these areas.
This is a project for which WELD was proud to be able to participate. For more information or to see how you can get involved, we encourage you to check out the REACH WV website.
Tags: minorities, online video, Public Health, REACH WV
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