December 3, 2024
Community Health Corner
The National Extension Framework for Health Equity and Well-being recommends using community development strategies and health literacy programs to ensure that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. The following resources help us improve well-being for all, and achieve Healthy Kansas 2030 and Healthy People 2030 objectives.
KHI (Kansas Health Institute) presents Building Thriving Rural Communities: KHI is launching a series of virtual meetings about factors influencing health and quality of life in rural Kansas. Beginning Friday, Dec. 6; 10am to 1 pm (CST)the zoom event will feature two panel discussions with leaders in public health, rural health policy, community development and health care. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of panelists about how Kansans can support thriving rural communities. Register here.
Finding a Purpose is Linked to Longer Life: A study published in the February 2024 issue of Psychology and Aging indicates that a sense of purpose may be more important to longevity than life satisfaction. The study led by Finnish researcher Frank Martela, analyzed data from almost 6,000 middle-aged US adults and 1,857 participants had died before 2022. Individuals who reported having a stronger purpose in life were more likely to be alive in 2023 than people who didn’t. The study of Which Predicts Longevity Better: Satisfaction With Life or Purpose in Life? reported by the University of California’s Greater Good Science Center and the University of Wisconsin is available here.
What is a Pharmacy Desert? An October news report by CNBC, highlighted that pharmacy deserts are increasing across the US. There has been increasing frequency of community pharmacy and chain closures, which worsens pharmacy deserts which are described as a low-access community where residents travel at greater distances to access pharmacy services. As reported in a 2022 national GIS cross-sectional analysis, 8.3% of US counties had at least 50% of residents with a distance greater than 10 miles to access a pharmacy. Low-access counties are concentrated in Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana. Pharmacy deserts disproportionately exist in rural and historically marginalized neighborhoods. An interactive map of the pharmacy deserts in Kansas is here. The detrimental effects of pharmacy deserts and how to address them is discussed in an August 2024 article in Health.
For more information, contact Elaine Johannes, ejohanne@ksu.edu; and Stephanie Gutierrez, smgutier@k-state.edu