January is Poverty in America Awareness Month – a month-long initiative to raise awareness and call attention to the growth of poverty in America. We focus on this initiative because poverty and poor health are undeniably linked.
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, “poverty is a complex and insidious determinant of health …that can persist for generations in a family. Beginning before birth and continuing throughout an individual’s life, poverty can significantly impact health and health outcomes.” From this, one can conclude that, a lot of times, poverty is something that is out of the control of the individual experiencing it. This would mean that the negative health outcomes associated with poverty are also out of the control of the individual experiencing them.
Poverty and the negative health outcomes related to it seem to create a cycle. This cycle is best explained by Health Poverty Action. They state that “poverty is both a cause and a consequence of poor health. Poverty increases the chances of poor health. Poor health, in turn, traps communities in poverty.” This cycle can only be broken by making health care more accessible.
With that being said, the JaxCareConnect team works tirelessly to make health care more accessible to our Duval County neighbors – especially those who are experiencing poverty or financial strain. If you or anyone you know are experiencing poverty or financial strain and need access to health care, JaxCareConnect can help. Click the link below for more info: https://jaxcareconnect.org
References:
https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/poverty-health.html https://www.healthpovertyaction.org/news-events/key-facts-poverty-and-poor-health/
