South Jersey Health Needs: Connections, Community, and Care
Loneliness and transportation among the biggest obstacles to health in South Jersey, according to new WRI report.
Following more than 18 months of data collection and analysis from two comprehensive community health needs assessments commissioned by five hospital networks in collaboration with health departments across five South Jersey counties, WRI researchers released a report detailing an important finding about health in South Jersey: residents’ physical and mental health are surprisingly strongly predicted by their connections to the people and places surrounding them.
The report, titled “South Jersey Health Needs: Connections, Community, and Care,” consolidates findings from nearly 2400 resident surveys in 121 municipalities, 19 stakeholder interviews and 36 focus groups, and millions of Emergency Department data records.
Researchers found that while 75 percent of survey respondents rarely or never feel socially isolated, nine percent do feel isolated. These socially isolated individuals report 25 percent worse physical health and 59 percent more chronic health conditions than those who rarely felt socially isolated. Findings about mental health showed similar patterns, with those who often feel socially isolated reporting 32 percent worse mental health than those who are rarely socially isolated.
Additionally, across South Jersey, millennials and younger-aged residents (aged 38 or younger) are 50 percent more likely to feel isolated than Baby Boomers or those who are 55 or older. College students who participated in the Rutgers-Camden study state that social media impacts their mental health, and that social media increased the pressure to “look perfect” and to acquire more things, which leads to wasteful spending of time and money.
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