Is Community Health the Same as Individual Health? Research Paper Example

Although individual health and community health are related, individual health is different from community health. Community health considers the needs of a community as a whole. In doing so, it emphasizes the health issues and concerns that are most prevalent in a population. For example, large urban areas such as New York City have high asthma rates due to air pollution. As a consequence, the city government has generated health initiatives to inform its residents about ways it could be treated at low costs. Other common problems for this population include obesity and diabetes. Targeting community health is useful for the New York City health department because it allows them to raise awareness of certain illnesses and to launch prevention programs. This is beneficial for the population as a whole because a large percentage of residents are targeted here. However, it is useful to note that while these are the major health issues in the area, there are less common health issues that still need to be addressed. This is when individual health comes in.

Individual health ignores the issues of the community to focus on the specific needs of each patient. For example, a patient who has no family history of obesity and does not have a high BMI will likely not be given health advice on obesity related diseases in an individual health setting, while they will in a community health setting. Individual health is relevant for those who have rare health problems or have a combination of issues that is unique to their situation. Therefore, it is better to treat a person as an individual in this case rather than assume that their health concerns reflect that of the community.

References

Alleghny County. (N.D.). Department of Human Services. Retrieved from  http://www.alleghenycounty.us/dhs/ichealth.aspx

WHO. (N.D.). The Determinants of Health. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/