Memo

To: PS 1010 Group

From: Chafic Dahabra

Date: Feb 12th, 2017

Subject: Health Care Disparities

When dealing with a local social problem, there are almost always a group of entrepreneurs

hoping to fix the problem. This falls under the category of the term civic sphere we were taught

in our Honors course. Essentially, civic sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come

together to openly discuss and identify societal problems. A social entrepreneur uses skills to start

up companies or organizations to develop, teach, fund, and implement solutions to the social issue.

Our issue lack of knowledge for a healthier lifestyleis a significant social problem that is

continuously being dealt with among our city residents in Detroit. We are considered the

unhealthiest big city in Detroit. (The Detroit News) Detroits Health Department director stated

We're in a city with health disparities that are some of the worst in the country. (MLive) In terms

of civic sphere, the social entrepreneur of this complication is portrayed by two not-for-profit

organizations. we were able to find two of which possess the tools to ameliorate the problem:

Detroit Community Health Connection and Healthy Detroit.

Healthy Detroit is a not-for-profit organization in the city of Detroit that was developed by

social entrepreneurs in late of 2013. According to their website, they are dedicated to build a

culture of healthy and active living in Detroit. This organizations vision includes the development

of HealthParks all over Detroit. The purpose of HealthParks is to accommodate residents with

one stop shop neighborhood wellness hubs for everything needed to live healthy lives including

an outdoor fitness center and an indoor/outdoor recreation center. (Healthy Detroit) Study shoes
that Physical activity tends to be lower in low-to moderate-income urban communities. (Designing

Healthy Neighborhoods) Needless to say, we all know how finically unstable Detroit is. Although

this organization brings hope to encourage individuals to live an active lifestyle, it is not enough

to solve the issue. Since it is relatively new to the city, awareness of this not-for-profit organization

is still very minimal. Therefore, in order to aid and support the attention, we need more exposure

to institutions similar to this one.

Healthy Teens Community Care Center is a similar not-for-profit organization to Healthy

Detroit, but they focus more so on adolescent care. They provide medical services to individuals

of 10-24 year olds including routine GYN (gynecological) care, immunizations, STD screening

and more. In regards to our issue, they administer health education workshops that will help

prevent their problem to reoccur. This organization appears to have a successful outcome mainly

because they target the younger generation. If they are taught to improve their lifestyle to a more

advantageous one at an earlier age, then it will essentially have a bigger impact in the long run.

I decided to interview my friends mom (whos an internist) and began by asking what

should people change about themselves if they are unable to access medical services. She

responded with "live a healthier life." She was already well aware of the purpose of this

interview. I then asked her to elaborate on her answer and she stated "if we change our lifestyle

and learn how to take care of ourselves, we won't have to spend our time and money always

having to be medically seen." I also interviewed my friend's brother-in-law who is a nurse and

replied with a similar answer stating "we should be more informed with knowledge on how to

better ourselves in a healthier sense, and being taught to prevent particular diseases developing

such as diabetes." I proceeded to ask them what should the local government do in order to fix

this problem and help spread awareness to live a healthier lifestyle rather than direct treatment.
My friend's mom stated "they should encourage schools and universities to spread the awareness

and provide funds rather than having people figure it out on our own. They should also continue

educating ways to becoming more active and athletic." Last, I asked them if this plan would be

effective and asked how it would affect themselves as healthcare providers. "My duty is to make

sure everyone that comes to see me leaves in a healthier condition. Although I do inform my

patients what to differently so they minimize the chances of experiencing their health problem

again, it may not always be enough. If they were informed earlier and consistently, chances are

they wouldn't have to see me to begin with--excluding people patients with accidents and

traumatic event, that is).

As you can see, group members, the more we narrow down this problem the closer we

are to figuring out the resolution. In terms of Civic sphere, I was able to inform you that in order

to ameliorate the problem we must expand the awareness of the issue itself with the help of

social entrepreneurs and their organizations. With visit Healthy Teens Community Care Center,

we will be able obtain their insight on the issue and get real life experience on this situation.

Therefore, I think we are on the right track!!

See you all on Wednesday,

Chafic Dahabra
 Works Cited

"About Us." Healthy Detroit. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2017.

Bouffard, Karen. "Health, Wellness and Fitness - The Detroit News." Detroit News. The
Detroit News, 13 Feb. 2017. Web. 14 Feb. 2017.
Detroit Official's Gubernatorial Run Is About Going 'on Offense' for Public
Health." MLive.com. N.p., 13 Feb. 2017. Web. 14 Feb. 2017
Scholarly source: Wineman, Jean, Robert Marans, Amy Schulz, and Max Paul.
"Designing Healthy Neighborhoods: Contributions of the Built Environment to Physical Activity
in Detroit." ProQuest, summer. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.
"Woodward Corridor Family Health Center." Detroit Community Health Connection.
N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2017.