Leisure’s Role in Community Health and Wellbeing

Answer

Leisure’s Role in Community Health and Wellbeing

Leisure activities such as those involving physical activity and physically active recreations have been found to reduce the risk of some of the physical health problems such as obesity. Additionally, according to Misener and Misener (2016), leisure activities have massive benefits on the cognitive functions such concentration in individuals. Leisure activities are even more beneficial to vulnerable communities such as children, LGBTQ youth, older adults, and people living with disabilities. Moreover, Soga et al. (2017) assert that leisure activities serve to increase community connections and immensely contribute to people’s mental health and wellbeing. Furthermore, many of the programs and services provided by recreation and community development professionals have a significant level of benefit on rural populations especially if they involve physical activity and social interactions (Forde et al., 2015). Some of the main causes of physical and mental health are lack of physical activity and social isolation as such leisure activities involving recreation and other services for health promotion are vital in enriching community life. This essay provides a discussion on why leisure is vital for community health, especially for vulnerable populations. Additionally, ways that leisure can be delivered to enhance community health will be discussed.

Why Leisure Is Important for Community Health

Leisure is an enjoyable and personally meaningful activity which is undertaken during an individual’s free time (Shikako-Thomas et al., 2014). Leisure has often been associated with a sense of not only freedom, but also intrinsic motivation. Various forms of leisure include social activities which involve spending time with friends and peers and creative and expressive leisure entailing artistic pursuits (Berg, Warner, & Das, 2015). Leisure can also be cognitive when it involves reading and physical when it comprises of activities such as walking, jogging, and even gardening and participating in other community activities (Misener & Misener, 2016). Vulnerable populations such as indigenous populations, older adults, and low-income families cannot afford the opportunities enjoyed by other people for them to exercise regularly and participate in activities which improve their physical and mental health. Additionally, some of the social determinants of health (SDH) such as level of income, social exclusion, and unemployment hinder such populations from having positive health outcomes (Kim et al., 2014).

One of the reasons why leisure is vital for community health is that it promotes social relationships and civil engagements which are vital to vulnerable populations as they engage in active roles which can be instrumental to their health and wellbeing. Kim et al. (2014) note that one of the reasons for some vulnerable populations such as the elderly and people with disabilities being susceptible to various adverse health conditions is the lack of forums where they can engage and participate in various physical activities. Additionally, Misener and Misener (2016) state that they lack the necessary opportunities for community connections where they can meet and share their conditions and thus adopt ways of addressing their concerns. However, community meetings which are made possible by leisure activities result in the vulnerable communities gathering and building social skills and networks which are vital for their health and wellbeing. Some of the community connections are important in ensuring that vulnerable populations engage in physical exercise and thus improve their health (Berg, Warner, & Das, 2015). The various activities have been found vital in ensuring that populations such as the elderly and disabled reduce their stress levels (through constructive conversations), as well as diabetes and the risk of stroke.

Leisure activities are vital in increasing physical activity for the vulnerable populations and thus reducing the risk of some conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular complications. Vulnerable populations such as low-income families and rural residents experience various inequalities in society. According to Forde et al. (2014), some of these include unemployment and thus lack of resources to pay for various professionals who can help them engage in physical exercises. However, leisure activities serve to fill this gap by ensuring that such communities get an opportunity to engage in physical activities with their peers. Due to the issues of social exclusion for the immigrants, refugees, and the racial minorities, they have reduced levels of physical activities and have thus experienced high rates of diabetes due to them being overweight after failing to regularly exercise (Kim et al., 2014). Leisure plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the communities come together and engage in physical activities which improves their health and well-being. For instance, when the racial minorities find opportunities where they can come together, they create platforms for physical exercise and thus prevent themselves from experiencing certain conditions which are caused by lack of physical activity and its associated consequences (Shikako-Thomas et al., 2014).

How Leisure Can Be Delivered to Enhance Community Health

Various approaches, programs, strategies, and policies can be deployed to deliver leisure and hence, enhance community health. The government; at both the national and local levels, should make policies which will play a significant role in the enabling the achievement of public health outcomes (Berg, Warner, & Das, 2015). For instance, the Australian Public Health Bill 2014 tasked the local government to initiate, support, and even manage public health planning for its residents. Additionally, it mandated the local government to develop and implement policies and programs which can ensure community connectedness and wellbeing (Forde et al., 2015). A legislation should be the basis or the monitoring of the leisure activities including action planning, strategy development, and the prioritization of main leisure activities. Policies will also ensure that the delivery of leisure is placed under specific departments and the process is well coordinated (Kim et al., 2014). Additionally, the policy should provide feasible public health plans which will seek to address the areas of healthy lifestyles and community lifestyle. The legislative arm should be guided by the fact that vulnerable communities experience social exclusion and their social determinants of health and lower than they are in other populations.

The other way in which leisure can be delivered to enhance community health is via the start and implementation of various community programs and services which promote physical activity, provide for play, and advance both recreation and leisure (Soga et al., 2017). For instance, the local government should implement a program which should be led by a public health professional which will encourage people to use outdoor fitness and thus change the existing behaviors and improve the community physical activity levels (Misener & Misener, 2016). Additionally, the same activity can be led by a sport or recreation professional and hence marketed as a social event. Apart from the events being aimed at enabling vulnerate communities to be active, it will ensure that they get out of their homes and into the nearby recreational centers and thus encourage social interaction and community connection which could be an avenue for leisure and delivery of enhanced community health (Chang, Wray, & Lin, 2014). For instance, the Leisure Access Program (LAP) in Sydney facilitates access to leisure for low-income residents (VicHealth, 2018). Social policies should be used in the quest to promote equity and eliminate the various inequalities which are experienced by the vulnerable populations in the society.

A health planning model is one of the approaches which can be used in leisure to enhance community health and wellbeing. In specific, the local government should identify a project, program, activity, or intervention which will contribute to positive health outcomes. During leisure, the health promotion program can be used to inform the vulnerable populations of what they should do to stay healthy. Berg, Warner, and Das (2015) add that leisure can be used to address the various issues in the community which influences health and wellbeing. Community health delivery through leisure can enable vulnerable populations to increase control over their health and involve the population in the context of their everyday lives. Creating supportive environments and strengthening community action can be key in the quest to improve community health. The health promotion plan should be based on the analysis of the needs of the vulnerable communities (Soga et al., 2017). Deploying them will result in bridging the gap of health inequities between the vulnerable and other populations.

In conclusion, since some of the main causes of physical and mental health are lack of physical activity and social isolation, leisure activities involving recreation and other services for health promotion are vital in enriching community life. Leisure is vital for community health enhancement as it results in increased social interactions and connections as well as increased physical activities. Leisure ensures that the issues faced by vulnerable communities such as social exclusion and low-income are not impediments to good health and wellbeing. The local and national governments should enhance community health through policies and health promotion plans. The ultimate objective will be to enlighten the vulnerable populations about various health issues and hence, ensure that their recreational time is best used for community health promotion.