Healthcare is one of the most important concerns in our life. There’s an old saying which states that if one doesn’t have his health he has nothing. Our health is the primary metric by which we derive quality of life. As such, it’s vitally important that everyone work together to increase the average state of health.
Thankfully the culture as a whole is moving toward increased recognition of healthcare. Nonprofits in particular are becoming an increasingly effective method of matching medical needs with medical care. 2020 should see this trend becoming even more effective and wide reaching. But there are three trends in particular which seem to hold the most promise for future growth.
Mental health advocacy
Nonprofits involved with mental health are one of the faster growing segments of the industry. It wasn’t all that long ago that mental health just wasn’t spoken of. People saw mental health as a subject quite distinct from physical health. An entire generation has come of age in the modern era of mental health though. And this is causing huge improvements in public perception of mental health issues. Nonprofits have been particularly important in extending a helping hand to people who have both need and misconceptions about mental health.
The nonprofits typically help people navigate the often confusing lexicon of health terminology. They’re able to match people with mental health professionals that can help them. And depending on local regulations they can often even begin rapid deployment of medications to help avert serious issues.
One of the most important functions is to simply offer information about mental health to the public. In part to the people seeking treatment for mental health issues. But these services also offer valuable education for their friends and family. All of these efforts are helping people understand that mental and physical health are equally important and interlinked.
Public education
The earlier example brought up ways in which nonprofits help educate people about mental health concerns. But this is just one part of a much larger effort. It’s become increasingly clear over the past few decades that the public is lagging behind the latest findings in medicine. Even the most respected newspapers often make fairly basic mistakes in their medical reporting. It’s clear that the public needs some help keeping up with the changing state of the industry. Thankfully nonprofits are working hard to increase the public’s overall state of health literacy.
One of the most important ways nonprofits educate people is through informational pamphlets. This might seem like an odd choice in 2020. After all, the internet is the standard method of communication these days. But small, portable, written material has some huge advantages. In particular there’s the issue of permanence. One will often close a browser’s tabs when it’s left unread for too long. But a pamphlet will always catch someone’s eye. Even better, it doesn’t simply help the health literacy of the person reading it. If they find it useful they’ll lend it to others.
Helping the public understand nutrition
Preventive care is another topic that’s really come into the public eye recently. More and more people, professional and non-professional alike, have come to realize that preventing medical problems are preferable to treating them. Nutrition is one of the best ways to make that happen. Proper nutrition can vastly decrease one’s chances for almost every severe medical issue. Even more, when people are well fed they’re more likely to feel like being active. An increase in physical activity can also provide huge help to people seeking to avoid both minor and major illnesses.
Nonprofits are helping out in a variety of different ways. But one of the most important has been targeting shared nutritional deficiencies. By determining common issues in the public they’re able to help work with various private and public agencies to correct them.
