June 27, 2023
The Community Health Corner
The National Extension Framework for Health Equity and Well-being recommends using community development strategies with education and health literacy programs to ensure that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. The following resources can be used to improve health access, equity and well-being to achieve Healthy Kansas 2030 objectives and contribute to the nation’s Healthy People 2030 outcomes.
DISCOVER NOW: The data explorer feature of KDHE’s Kansas Environmental Public Health Tracking Program is a powerful information resource that provides county-level comparison information for air quality, asthma, birth defects, cancer, carbon monoxide poisoning, childhood cancer, childhood lead poisoning, COPD, drinking water quality, heart disease and heart-related illness. Funded by CDC, the environmental public health tracking system includes data stories with county profiles.
COMMUNICATE NOW: KSDE’s child nutrition and wellness website can help families locate summer meal sites. The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is helping thousands of children across Kansas access nutritious meals and snacks this summer. At most sites, children can receive either one or two reimbursable meals each day. Camps and sites that primarily serve migrant children may be approved to serve up to three meals to each child per day. Families can find meal sites near them by visiting the KSDE Child Nutrition and Wellness (CNW) summer meal locator here. Families seeking food assistance for children can also contact the USDA National Hunger Hotline by dialing 1-866-3-HUNGRY (6479) or 1-877-8-HAMBRE (6273) for Spanish from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. The USDA website also has an SFSP site finder that has data for 40 states including Kansas.
LEARN NOW: According to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, what happens in pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum health are influenced by social, economic, and environmental factors. “Maternal health is really a bellwether for the health of the whole society. So, if moms are unwell, society is unwell and that's why every injustice in society shows up in maternal health,” said Neel Shah, chief medical officer of Maven Clinic, a virtual clinic for women's and family health. The Kansas Maternal Mortality Review Committee, established in 2018, reviews maternal mortality cases to understand the medical and social factors leading to these tragedies with the goal being to eliminate all preventable maternal deaths in Kansas. Committee reports of Kansas maternal mortality and pregnant-related death reports are available here.
For more information, contact Elaine Johannes, ejohanne@ksu.edu; and Stephanie Gutierrez, smgutier@k-state.edu.