Understanding Community Types and Definitions

Community Definition

• A community is a group of people who share common characteristics, defined by location, race, ethnicity, age, occupation, interest in specific issues, or common bonds.
• It is a social unit with shared norms, values, identity, and often a sense of place within a geographical area (e.g., village, town, neighborhood).

Types of Community

• Interest: People who share the same interest or passion.
• Action: People working together to create change.
• Place: People brought together by geographic boundaries.
• Practice: People in the same profession or undertaking the same activities.
• Circumstance: People brought together by external events or situations.
• Common community types: urban, suburban, rural.

Rural Community

• Found in every society, featuring distinct culture and social life patterns.
• Driven by natural choices and shared objectives/ambitions of living, often centered on agriculture.
• Characterized by face-to-face interactions and high homogeneity.
• Typically lacks urban amenities like schools, hospitals, markets, and municipal offices.

Urban Community

• Opposite of rural communities.
• Characterized by impersonal lifestyles with high degrees of complexity and heterogeneity.
• Product of rational choice, complex division of labor, and specialization.
• Usually has modern civic facilities.

Suburban Community

• Lower-density areas that separate residential and commercial areas.
• Part of a city/urban area or separate residential community located within commuting distance of a city.

Social Determinants of Health

• Factors influencing health.
• Include biological/genetics, individual lifestyle, social environment, physical environment, and health services.
• Conditions where people are born, live, learn, work, worship, and age.
• Influences health, functioning, quality of life outcomes, and risks. Ex: social support, socioeconomic conditions, residential segregation.

Examples of Social Determinants

• Availability of resources (e.g., housing, food).
• Access to education, economics, and job opportunities.
• Access to healthcare services.
• Quality of education and job training.
• Community resources (leisure, recreational).
• Transportation options.
• Public safety.
• Social norms and attitudes (e.g., discrimination, racism).
• Exposure to crime, violence, and social disorder.
• Socioeconomic conditions (e.g., concentrated poverty).

Health Disparities

• Inequalities in healthcare provision and access across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.
• Multiple socioeconomic factors contribute to this, including income, education, residential segregation, stress, social and physical environment, and employment.

Rural Health Disparities

• Rural risk factors include geographic isolation, lower socioeconomic status, higher risk behaviors, limited access to specialists, and limited job opportunities.
• Residents less likely to have employer-provided health insurance.
• Factors underlying disparities include healthcare access, socioeconomic status, health behaviours, and chronic conditions.

Access to Healthcare (Rural)

• Healthcare workforce shortages are common in rural areas.
• Specialty and subspecialty care is less available, including specialized and highly sophisticated care.
• Traveling significant distances for treatment is a frequent barrier.
• Limited transportation options (e.g., long distances, poor road conditions, limited public transport) are barriers.

Socioeconomic Status (Rural)

• Rural populations have higher rates of low to moderate income.
• Less likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance compared to urban residents.
• Often experience higher rates of unemployment, lower post-secondary education, and lower median household incomes.

Urban Health Disparities

• Urban living presents opportunities, jobs, and services but concentrates risks and new hazards.
• Health risks are unequally distributed among social groups with the most affected vulnerable segments, especially those in depressed areas.
• Deficiencies in determinants of health equity, including political/economic, physical, and social environments, contribute to health inequalities and increased health risks for minorities, women, migrants, the poor, the elderly, children, and disabled, among others.

Urban Health Problems

• Poor planned/unplanned housing, transport, and food systems contribute to non-communicable diseases.
• Risks and hazards such as air pollution, poor diet, physical inactivity, traffic injury, and domestic injury are linked to these diseases.
• Communicable diseases (e.g., tuberculosis, waterborne and vector-borne diseases like dengue) are associated with crowding, lack of ventilation, unsafe water storage/waste management.
• Acute respiratory diseases, and diarrhoeal diseases are linked to indoor air pollution, mouldy interiors, unsafe drinking water, and poor sanitation.
• Lack of resources, limited access to providers, and low health literacy levels contribute to poorer health outcomes.

Political and Economic Environment

• The quality of urban governance, employment, health services, education, social support networks, safety, and gender equality influence the city's political and economic environment.

Physical Environment

• Natural and human-made aspects of cities, like urban geography, climate, urban built environments, housing conditions, water & sanitation, food security, transport systems, and air quality impact health.
• Socially vulnerable groups are more likely to reside in neighborhoods with natural or man-made hazards, poor water/sanitation, poor energy/transportation services, or poor housing conditions.