Evanston Health Department finds health inequalities in Ward 5

A July health check revealed that residents of the historically black Ward 5 had a life expectancy between 5 and 13 years shorter than those living in predominantly white neighborhoods.

Every five years, the Department of Health and Human Services conducts the Evanston Process for Local Needs of Needs (EPLAN) to take a holistic view of a city’s health and plan specific areas for improvement.

Christine Meyer, a community health specialist at the Department of Health, conducted the survey and said the data was collected based on census tracts rather than wards. A census block is a small division of a county used to collect census data.

Evanston currently has 19 census tracts as of 2020, with one district closely aligned with District 5. Life expectancy for tubes was 75.5 years, compared with 88.8 years for tubes that roughly represent Ward 7.

“If you just look at[Evanston’s]life expectancy, it’s higher than the U.S. average,” Meyer said. I will come.”

Meyer said the study highlights a pattern of concentration of wealth and privilege among non-Latino white populations north and east of Evanston. She said West Evanston shows financial and health disadvantages, especially in Ward 5. historically red-lined.

Carly Butler, director of community leadership at the Evanston Community Foundation, said she and others were shocked when they first heard the findings at a conference. data walk Hosted by the City and Evanston Cradle to Career.

I heard people saying, “Wow!” “The response was, ‘This is terrible,'” Butler said. “There was a sense of urgency to deal with this.

Since the release of the data, the Department of Health has conducted several focus groups, data walks, and other community forums to obtain public input on the data. Meyer said the health department has partnered with the ECF over the past few months to hear what people think about improving health and well-being across the city.

Meyer said the Department of Health and Human Services is reaching out to the entire community, but is focused on seeking input from Ward 5.

“The findings are centered on disproportionate damage, so[Wing 5 residents]need to be at the center of imagining solutions,” Meyer said. “They are experts in the matter because they are working on it. was the responsibility of

The Department of Health has identified three overarching priorities to address these disparities.

The top priority is mental and emotional well-being, which should include acknowledging the collective trauma as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in community violence seen in recent years, Meyer said. said.

The second is resilience to climate change. We recognize that the climate crisis is a public health issue that disproportionately impacts low-income, disabled and housing-insecure people.

“The big finding of this report is how much the environment and communities around us shape our health.” Resources depend on the income we have.”

Racial inequality is our third priority. Aldo. Bobby Burns (No. 5) told The Daily that health inequality and income inequality have long been correlated with race.

Burns is happy that public data on ratings makes people aware of these disparities.

“People are ready to make a change, and it’s a critical time to make a change,” Burns said. “We now have the opportunity to seize and create the type of change that we have needed for some time.”

Meyer said Health and Human Services plans to document some of EPLAN’s findings, particularly the links between health inequality patterns and Evanston’s redlining history, in the coming months. will be recorded in

She added that the hope is to disseminate the results more widely beyond the city-sponsored conference attendees.

“The issue of desegregation isn’t just living in the past,” Mayer said. “Drilling down to the neighborhood level reveals patterns where health hangs across geographic and racial lines, and this presentation seeks to tell that story.”

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