What Is Community Health?

Community health is the practice of protecting and improving the health of a community. Community health educators work to protect and improve the health of a community by teaching people about health topics in order to help them make healthier choices.

Education, Prevention, Inspiration

The health of a community is closely linked to the individual health of community members [1]. Therefore, the vision of the community health team is to:

1) educate individuals about risk factors for various health conditions;

2) prevent or reduce the chances of negative health outcomes among individuals;

3) inspire behavior change among individuals that will eventually impact the health of their communities.

University of Illinois Extension educators with expertise in community health are available to provide workshops and informational materials in the following areas:

• Heart disease
• Addiction
• Immunizations
• Hygiene
• Smoking
• Keeping your house healthy
• Lead poisoning
• Sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, AIDS and hepatitis
• Bird flu

University of Illinois Extension offers Cook County residents quality health education programs that promote healthy habits.

1. (Green and McKenzie, 2002, p. 247) in Principles and Foundations of Health Promotion and Education, 3^rd edition