The socioeconomic status of a community is a powerful determinant of health outcomes. Research has shown that variations in population health status is often associated to differences in age, social class, marital status, employment, education, and lifestyle choices among the different population groups. It provides an in-depth description of the people who live in the community and their social, demographic, economic, and environmental circumstances. Community health profiles are crucial to, and have important implications for, public health agencies because they focus attention on population groups that are most at risk and their potential risk factors.
Many different factors affect the health of a community.
Health Planning Health planning is a method that assesses the health needs of a geographic area or population, to determine how these needs can be met in the more effective and economic manner. Health planning, at minimum, requires the integration of community health profiles and geographic information systems products. It is the interpretation of these, along with policy development and analysis of alternative data sources, such as marketing data, that allows a community to determine its health status, resource allocation, and evaluation of programs. Ideally, the health planning process is objective and is driven by technical considerations. Public health must rely on planning to ensure its viability in the future.