Deep Dive Information

After our community conversations we wanted to better understand what barriers most impact health for those heaviest hit, young women with children. We conducted a survey in our WIC clinic and had some follow-up conversations. Three themes emerged as most impactful to mental health for this group: economic stability, built environment, and family learning/socialization. Below is an explanation of each theme.

Economic Stability: Most participants said financial issues, like not affording basic needs and childcare, cause stress and mental health problems. Lack of financial education also contributes to stress.

Built Environment: Limited job opportunities and lack of access to wellness activities (like walking paths and gyms) worsen mental health. Winter makes it even harder to practice self-care.

Family Learning/Socialization: Many participants were not taught how to budget or manage stress. Misinformation about mental health adds to the problem. Cultural differences also affect how people understand and address mental health.

The full report is available on our Community Health page, look for the Health Equity Data Analysis.

A big thank you to our participants for sharing with us.