Report finds link between civic engagement and community health – The Badger Herald

According to this year’s County Health Rankings and Roadmaps National Findings Report, communities with well-resourced civic infrastructure and accessible information environments tend to have better health outcomes.

CHR&R is a program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute that highlights health disparities between and within communities. The program provides strategies and resources to support communities in implementing evidence-based solutions that address fundamental structural health barriers.

In this year’s national report, CHR&R focused on civic health, which focuses specifically on the relationship between civic participation and health and takes into account the opportunities people have to participate in their communities. Civic health also includes civic infrastructures, the structures that promote or hinder civic engagement.

The report included three key findings. The provinces with well-equipped public spaces, such as community centres, schools and parks, show high community involvement in decision-making processes and social connections. Regions of the country that impose structural barriers to public health, such as restrictive voting laws, typically lack the civic infrastructure and resources to address issues affecting public health. These are often areas with a history of structural racism and disinvestment. And areas with accessible information environments such as the Internet and libraries provide greater economic and social opportunities for positive health outcomes.

Wisconsin health data reflects similar findings. Southern Wisconsin counties – Iowa, Dane, Jefferson, Columbia, Washington and Waukesha – are among the counties with the best health outcomes in the state. Counties with lower life expectancy and poorer health outcomes include Milwaukee, Menominee and Forrest. UW community and environmental sociology assistant professor Malia Jones pointed out how the patterns challenge common perceptions of rural versus urban health.

“If you look at Wisconsin, our most urban place, Milwaukee, and our most rural places are doing equally poorly compared to the suburbs, and there are structural reasons for that,” Jones said.

Milwaukee has a history of being one of the most segregated cities in the country, Jones said, noting that even today, the vast majority of people who are Black and Latino in Wisconsin live in Milwaukee County. It is important to consider the extent to which Milwaukee County residents are civically engaged and represented in local and state governments.

The CHR&R report offers evidence-based actions that communities can take to empower people to participate, connect, and stay informed in civic life. The recommendations center around citizenship education for youth, public libraries, broadband initiatives to expand access to high-speed internet, and participatory budgeting, which allows community members to determine government spending.

Jones said that in addition to publishing an annual report on the county’s health rankings, CHR&R offers a What Works for Health database that provides evidence-based strategies to help improve specific health outcomes for the community.