Help fight OC's vast health disparities
The old real estate adage "if you lived here, you'd be home by now" comes to mind while reflecting on the northern half of Orange County. It's home to a rich tapestry of global cultures, 1st and 2nd generation immigrants, historic neighborhoods, and innovative colleges. North OC is where America's history and future merge.
North OC is also facing modern challenges impacting the health of its residents. In a study called "Orange County on the Cusp of Change," UCI researchers explain the disparities between North and South Orange County and illustrate the need to improve the quality of life of north OC families and children. Through a new project called "Hack for Health," community members will utilize our perspectives and experiences to attack the gap in OC health disparities by building an app that makes north OC healthier. Let's take a moment to go through UCI's important research.
Who Lives in North OC?
According to UCI, "People of color are the new majority in Orange County, but disproportionately face issues such as poverty, language isolation, and educational attainment challenges." The US Census sasy 34 percent of the county is Latino and 19 percent is Asian, and that most people of color live in low-income areas of North and Central OC: almost half of the county's Latinos live in Santa Ana while North OC also has the largest Vietnamese and third largest population of Asian Pacific-Islanders in the country.
As you can see in the graph above, OC's population growth is in the Latino and Asian populations, intensifying the health and wealth issues adversely affecting the majority of OC's young families and children.
Pollution Disproportionately Harms North OC Residents
UCI's report explains that "North Orange County cities are at the top 10% of communities in California most burdened with pollution." In addition to the poor air quality above, poor park access is also a North County epidemic with zip code 92701 (downtown Santa Ana area) listed as the park-poorest in the county.
Poverty adds to the Challenge
Poverty exacerbates the challenges North OC communities face where one third of residents "experience financial instability, income and rent burden," according to the study, and "Latino families had twice the rate of poverty than the county average."
The graph above shows the income gap between North OC and South County while the graph below reminds us who is affected by these disparities: as the graph illustrates percentages of children enrolled in school on the federal free or reduced lunch program, giving them basic access to food while they study.
The problem is clear: now what can we do about it?
UCI's report paints a grave picture of the challenges, but also offers key recommendations including increasing civic engagement, community organizing, political reform, and research.
Many groups and individuals work on these issues every day. A new project, "Hack the Health," is leading a small "civic engagement" experiment to deeper explore the issue in partnership with our local community, to include local perspective and experience in the app design from the start.
Sign-up for Hack for Health and help build a mobile app that can help empower North OC to affordably gain access to healthy food and activities.
Story by Ryan Smolar. Graphs and Ideas from UCI's "Orange County on the Cusp of Change" (2014)