what is community health

Community health is a field of study within the medical and clinical sciences that focuses on the maintenance, protection, and improvement of the health status of population groups and communities. It is a distinct field of study that may be taught within a separate school of public health or preventive healthcare. Community health refers to non-clinical approaches for improving health, preventing disease, and reducing health disparities through addressing social, behavioral, and environmental factors. Community health organizations are non-profit and non-government organizations that administer and coordinate the delivery of healthcare services to people living in a designated community or neighborhood. They help people understand their status of health or social conditions, provide advocacy for those who need it, and hold groups and individual meetings with people in the community. Community health is important for public health because it reflects the needs of the community and exemplifies the best of public health research and methods to achieve better health outcomes. Community health professionals work towards identifying and addressing the underlying social, economic, and environmental factors that affect the health of a community.