Social Work Today: CISWH Executive Director Ellie Zambrano & Kristina Whiton-O’Brien (SSW’95) Discuss Client Civic Health

Voting is social work. In their op-ed for Social Work Today, Executive Director of the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH) at BUSSW, Ellie Zambrano, and Kristina Whiton-O’Brien (SSW’95) from VotER explain the relationship between civic health and client health, urging social workers to register their clients to vote.

Excerpt from “Health Care Social Workers Can Help Patients by Registering Them to Vote” by Ellie Zambrano and Kristina Whiton-O’Brien

Right now, we have an opportunity, and a critical window of time, to rethink how we tackle social factors that influence health—from employment to housing—before the next global emergency strikes. Doctors, nurses, social workers, and other care providers are perfectly positioned to help patients take a key step in uplifting their own health through voter registration.

…Research has shown that civic health engagement builds physically healthier communities with higher life expectancies, increased employment rates, improved schools, and revitalized neighborhoods. And it’s correlated with voter participation. In the 2018 New York City mayoral election, East Harlem had a 35% lower voter turnout rate compared with citywide turnout. The life expectancy in East Harlem is decades lower than surrounding voting precincts.

Doctors, nurses, and social workers often see patients who are not only experiencing physical symptoms, but who are also hungry, inadequately housed, or lacking medical coverage or resources to treat their chronic or acute illnesses. Health care workers and health care social workers can directly impact civic health engagement by taking an active role in registering those patients to vote. Increasing voter registration rates increases community connections, involvement in problem-solving, and participation in decision-making. It gives patients a voice in shaping the policies that drive inequities and health disparities.”

Read the full article here.

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