Get to Know Your Community

What is community?

Based on your advocacy focus and passion, your community may look different and include different populations.  

A community can be based on geography, a specific population, or a specific health issue that brings health care providers and community organizations together to affect change.  

Communities can be defined by a host of factors: 

Geography

• • Can be defined by a specific name, identity, or natural and man-made boundaries
  • Example: Your community of interest may include the neighborhood in which your clinic resides.  For example, a neighborhood in Columbus Ohio called Linden was originally part of a land grant that was annexed into the city of Columbus in 1921.  It has a distinct geographic boundary and a defined sense of community and includes the Pediatric Linden Primary Care Center.  

Populations

• • Can be defined by specific groups within a larger area with core commonalities
  • Example: What if your passion for advocacy centers around early childhood?  Your community may include a coalition of neighborhoods that are focused on increasing capacity for quality early childhood educational services.  It may include leaders from several local neighborhoods alongside some community-based organizations that focus on this issue.  
  • Example: How about Children with Special Healthcare Needs?  Looking at this specific patient population may help you focus on certain aspects of the community that provide resources.  

What Pediatricians are Saying: Dr. Hilda Loria

Dr. Hilda Loria shares how she addressed gaps in healthcare access for uninsured immigrant children in Texas by launching a medical student-run free clinic. She conducted interviews with community members to identify needs, which led to targeted interventions focused on improving access to subspecialty care.