Community-Specific Healthcare

Residents of San Joaquin County in California enjoy a pretty clearly defined geopolitical community.  This county is noted as one that serves as a microcosm of all of California in terms of ethnic, political, and economic diversity (Cook & Latterman, 2011, p. 4).  San Joaquin County meets the definition of a geopolitical community in that it has its own county government, as other counties do, and also because it occupies the San Joaquin Valley, a geographically defined area south of Sacramento.  Phenomenological communities with San Joaquin are more plentiful because of its great diversity.  Religious, ethnic, and economic groups all gather around those who are similar to feel comfortable among shared ideas and values.

There are a few reasons that customizing healthcare to a community can help improve the quality of that care.  Even in setting up a community-based healthcare platform, the community’s involvement is essential.  If the members of a geopolitical or, better yet, the phenomenological group are involved in the planning phase, then they will be educated about what services are available and they will be more comfortable receiving those services.  The other side of that coin is that the doctors and nurses working within that community will be more familiar with the particular health concerns specific to an area or group based on access to healthcare, socioeconomic status, local food and activities, and occupational risks (Mullan Phillips, & Kinman, 2004, p. 1).

Of course, there will always be challenges to creating a healthcare platform that is melded with a community.  Especially in the case of ethnic or socioeconomically defined phenomenological groups, doctors and nurses are likely to come from outside that community and have a hard time integrating.  Once they become integrated, they will be more attached to that patient group because leaving would mean abandoning that trusted relationship.  It might provide a healthcare professional valuable experiencing for integrating elsewhere, but it could also create false assumptions or bad habits that hinder integration into a different community.

References

Cook, C., & Latterman, D. (2011). San Benito County and California's geopolitical fault lines. The California Journal of Politics and Policy, 3(1), 1-38. Retrieved from http://www.usfca.edu

Mullan, F., Phillips, R. L., & Kinman, E. L. (2004). Geographic retrofitting: A method of community definition in community-oriented primary care practices. Family Medicine, 36(6), 440-446. Retrieved from http://www.stfm.org/fmhub/fm2004/June/Fitzhugh440.pdf