The Foundation’s 2022 Strategic Direction was informed by an inclusive strategic planning process that engaged a broad range of stakeholders. Our goal was to better understand the most pressing issues facing our community and the most relevant ways to engage from the viewpoint of those most directly affected.
The Foundation worked with the Research, Policy, and Impact Center at the National Institute of Minority Economic Development and the UNCG Center for Housing and Community Studies to assist us with pulling together the appropriate data to guide our efforts. Those findings are available in a published report on our website, An Assessment of Social Health Drivers of High Point, and align with the County Health Rankings Model and Healthy North Carolina 2030 goals.
The underlying thread of health inequalities was found throughout stakeholder conversations, listening sessions, focus groups, and surveys. We understood that certain race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexuality, immigrant status, and other social statuses typically experience inequitable health access and/or outcomes. Our Black and Brown communities, seniors, refugees, LGBTQ+ populations, individuals with intellectual disability, and areas like Census tract 143 were specifically identified as populations and places experiencing health disparities.
Comparative research leads us to believe that strategic investments in key social determinants of health affecting the Greater High Point community can lead to transformational impacts related to health equity.
Social determinants of health are non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. According to the World Health Organization, social determinants are “the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age” and reference the wider set of forces and systems shaping these conditions. Research shows that social, economic, and environmental factors are the largest influencers on health (greater than health care or lifestyle choices) and account for between 70-80% of health outcomes.
With our roots in healthcare funding and our deepening relationships across the community, the Foundation is uniquely positioned to make those critical investments, serving to convene and support alignment across multiple sectors and with a broad set of partners.