Dr. Ankit Kumar Jha’s Post

Play and creativity are crucial to priming our minds to realize our full potentials. How many of you role played as children? How can you bring play and creativity back into your lives as adults? #longevity #play #creativity

Happy World Health Day! Today, we rejoice in the spirit of well-being and celebrate the theme of "My Health, My Right." This theme reminds us that good health is not merely a privilege, but a fundamental human right that should be accessible to all individuals without discrimination. On this special day, let us reflect upon the significance of our health and the rights that accompany it. Each one of us has the right to access quality healthcare services, regardless of our background, socioeconomic status, or geographic location. It is a right that should be upheld and protected by governments, healthcare systems, and societies as a whole. "My Health, My Right" also emphasizes the importance of health education and empowerment. By equipping ourselves with knowledge about preventive measures, healthy lifestyles, and disease management, we can actively participate in our own well-being. Let us seize this opportunity to educate ourselves and others, promoting health literacy and creating a society that values and prioritizes individual health. Mental health, often overlooked, is an essential aspect of our overall well-being. World Health Day reminds us to recognize the significance of mental health and to advocate for its equal treatment and support. Let us work together to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues and ensure that mental healthcare services are accessible to all who need them. Furthermore, achieving global health requires collaborative efforts. Governments, healthcare professionals, organizations, and individuals must unite and work towards creating sustainable healthcare systems that address health inequalities and cater to the diverse needs of our global community. By sharing knowledge, resources, and best practices, we can make significant strides in improving the health and well-being of people worldwide. Today, let us celebrate the gift of good health and renew our commitment to ensuring that every person has the right to live a healthy life. By embracing the theme of "My Health, My Right," we can create a world where no one is left behind when it comes to healthcare. Together, let us advocate for universal access to healthcare, promote health education, and support mental well-being. Happy World Health Day! #WHO #Happyworldhealthday #Yourhealthmatters #Mentalhealthmatters

This post of health systems blog ‘Otaihanga Second Opinion’ discusses how to get the culture of New Zealand’s health system right in order to address the detrimental impact of the current vertical control culture. https://lnkd.in/gqPnAs6J

As we approach the end of the year, it's the perfect time to reflect on the health goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year. Have you managed to stay on track, or did you have some challenges that revised your resolutions? At It's Time Texas we understand that setting and achieving health goals is an ongoing journey, and we're here to support you every step of the way! Head to our blog to learn how to set achievable goals for the New Year! https://lnkd.in/gzfXWTFa #healthyhabits #goals #NewYear #ontheblog #HealthyTX #Healthforall

#HealthyNYC lays out a plan to address the systemic issues preventing New Yorkers from living their healthiest lives. The plan requires collective action to ensure all New Yorkers have the opportunity to live not just a long life, but a healthy one: https://buff.ly/3RDzw79

Let’s talk about Social Determinants of Health (SDOH).  What are SDOH? They include factors like:  1. Economic Stability: Income, employment, debt.  2. Education Access: Literacy, language barriers, quality of education.  3. Social & Community Context: Social support systems, discrimination, safety.  4. Healthcare Access & Quality: Insurance coverage, proximity to healthcare providers, quality of care.  5. Neighborhood & Physical Environment: Housing quality, access to healthy foods, pollution levels.  Why do they matter? SDOH influence our ability to adopt healthy behaviors, our health outcomes, and access healthcare services. By addressing these factors, we can create a health care system which ensure everyone can lead their healthiest life. 

I fear—often—that we are too impatient to wait for the effects of our efforts. By plainly laying out various ideologies and associated outcomes, Alexandra Plante shows us why we may be challenged to agree on action, but also lays the groundwork for how we may bring “competing” priorities to one table in order to move collaboratively to solution Oregon’s very public argument over how to respond to a substantial amount of unmet need feels like we are digging in rather than coming together. No solution will resolve our problems in short order, and the suggestion that one ideology must prevail is only setting us all up to fail. We will fail those who need us and those to whom we are promising resolution. In the meantime, more lives will be lost needlessly and our tables will only splinter further. Wherever our conversation about criminalization, treatment, public health, and harm reduction lands, we are desperately in need of a different message and a realistic timeline. One that is longer than a legislative session or an election cycle.

The conclusion of this report chimes with some of the conversations we have been having with the social care sector around the: - key role of real co-production with those who use or have used services - importance of place based partnerships in solving addressing "health" outcomes Talk of "Place" doesn't necessarily resonate outside of those working in the sector but focusing on developing quality local environments is vital in improving overall wellbeing. I thought this sentence summed it up quite nicely: "improving health outcomes is not just about clinical interventions or even changing people's lifestyles but is, more importantly, about addressing the wider social determinants of poor health (low incomes etc) and the quality of the local environment and places in which people live." https://lnkd.in/e-UZicP8

"For an individual to prosper, they must feel that they are safe, that they are valued and that they belong". I learned about the work of Dr William Bird MBE this morning, as a result of his participation in a panel on 'The Healing Power of Nature' at the Integrative & Personalised Medicine 2024 conference. His argument that strong social bonds are at the heart of a healthy and fit society resonated with me. Interested to know more, I discovered a report published last week by his company Intelligent Health UK, which outlined a manifesto for improving the health of our society through community building. It is succinct, compelling, and brilliant. It provides a list of low-cost or no-cost policy recommendations across six Government Departments, and should be read by every government minister. Having just done the school run this morning, I particularly liked the blanket adoption of ’20 is plenty’ on all school streets and the suggestion to change the Highway Code to fully ban pavement parking (a pet peeve of mine, as I have to enter the road and dodge cars with two easily distractable children). You can take a look at the report yourself (and please share widely) here: https://lnkd.in/eJFmk2E4 #HealthAndWellbeing #CommunityBuilding #SocialHealth #PublicHealth #IntegrativeMedicine #PersonalisedMedicine #HealingPowerOfNature #HealthPolicy #ChildSafety #SafeStreets #PublicPolicy #HealthyCommunities #SocialBonds #UrbanPlanning #ProfWilliamBird #IntelligentHealth #GovernmentPolicy #HealthManifesto #SustainableLiving #CommunityHealth

Rural health equity means that people living in rural areas should have the same opportunities for a healthy life as those in urban areas. But that’s often not the case.  Recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data highlights this reality, showing that rural residents face higher rates of early death from leading causes like heart disease, stroke, cancer, unintentional injuries, and chronic lower respiratory disease. With over 41% of Arkansas residents living in rural areas, addressing these disparities is imperative. We can—and must—do better. Learn more about how Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield is helping to improve whole-person health for Arkansans.