North Miami is a diverse and vibrant community in South Florida. As with any community, North Miami has strengths and areas for growth regarding its residents’ health and well-being. By understanding these strengths and challenges, the community can work together to build an even healthier future.
Evaluating My Community’s Health
Overall, North Miami has several strengths that contribute to community health. One major strength is the area’s ethnic and cultural diversity. Over 60% of residents are foreign-born, bringing rich cultural traditions and strong family and community connections. This diversity also is reflected in the cuisine, art, music, and festivals celebrated in North Miami. Another strength is the city’s parks and recreational facilities (NORRIS et al., 2023). North Miami has over ten parks, beaches, and nature trails that give residents free access to outdoor recreation. Exercise and time spent outdoors are essential for both physical and mental health. The city also has a public pool, tennis courts, and adult/youth sports leagues. Access to these facilities encourages active lifestyles among residents.
Regarding challenges impacting community health, North Miami faces issues with chronic health conditions and access to healthcare. Obesity rates are high, with over 65% of adults considered overweight or obese. Rates of diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease are also elevated. The number of uninsured or underinsured residents impacts access to healthcare. Poverty rates are high in specific neighborhoods, making healthcare unaffordable for many families. There is also a shortage of primary care providers and culturally competent care for the diverse population. Mental healthcare resources are limited as well.
Major Strengths
One major strength is the area’s ethnic and cultural diversity. Over 60% of residents are foreign-born, bringing rich cultural traditions and strong family and community connections. This diversity is also reflected in the cuisine, art, music, and festivals celebrated in North Miami (Barjolin-Smith, 2020). Another strength is the city’s parks and recreational facilities. North Miami has over ten parks, beaches, and nature trails that give residents free access to outdoor recreation. The city also has a public pool, tennis courts, and adult sports leagues. Access to these facilities encourages active lifestyles among residents.
My Hopes
Looking to the future, I hope to see North Miami progress around its most significant health challenges. Increased education and outreach are needed to promote healthy eating and physical activity among residents. This can help address high rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and associated risk factors. Advocating for expanded healthcare access will also be necessary. Partnerships between local government, health systems, and community organizations can help provide services and assistance to uninsured or underserved groups. There are also opportunities to grow the number of bilingual mental health providers. North Miami has the strong community connections needed to work collectively toward better health. Residents’ diverse cultures and backgrounds should be seen as an asset in improving community well-being.
What Resonated
In this course on community health, I learned how essential it is to understand the strengths and growth areas unique to a given city or region. Every community has distinct assets and barriers related to health, whether recreational facilities, green space, access to healthcare, chronic disease rates, or language needs (Barjolin-Smith, 2020). Developing a comprehensive picture allows stakeholders to tailor initiatives and solutions to the population’s needs. I also learned how health encompasses physical, mental, social, economic, and other aspects. It is not just an individual issue but a product of the environments where people live, work, play, and access care.
References
Barjolin-Smith, A. (2020). Florida: Society and Cultures. Springer EBooks, 39–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7478-8_2
NORRIS, K., Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Reis, H., & Haynes-Maslow, L. (2023). A Systematic Literature Review of Nutrition Interventions Implemented to Address Food Insecurity as a Social Determinant of Health. Nutrients, 15(15), 3464–3464. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15153464
References
Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Ahmed, S., Anise, A., Azzahir, A., Baker, K., Cupito, A., Eder, M., Everette, T. D., Erwin, K., Felzien, M., Freeman, E., Gibbs, D., Greene-Moton, E., Hernandez-Cancio, S., Hwang, A., Jones, F., Jones, G., Jones, M., Khodyakov, D., & Michener, J. L. (2022). Assessing Meaningful Community Engagement: A Conceptual Model to Advance Health Equity through Transformed Systems for Health. NAM Perspectives, 22(2). https://doi.org/10.31478/202202c
Harfield, S., Pearson, O., Morey, K., Kite, E., Canuto, K., Glover, K., Gomersall, J. S., Carter, D., Davy, C., Aromataris, E., & Braunack-Mayer, A. (2020). Assessing the quality of health research from an Indigenous perspective: the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander quality appraisal tool. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-020-00959-3
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