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How to Write the Community Essay – Guide with Examples (2023-24)

September 6, 2023

Students applying to college this year will inevitably confront the community essay. In fact, most students will end up responding to several community essay prompts for different schools. For this reason, you should know more than simply how to approach the community essay as a genre. Rather, you will want to learn how to decipher the nuances of each particular prompt, in order to adapt your response appropriately. In this article, we’ll show you how to do just that, through several community essay examples. These examples will also demonstrate how to avoid cliché and make the community essay authentically and convincingly your own.

Emphasis on Community

Do keep in mind that inherent in the word “community” is the idea of multiple people. The personal statement already provides you with a chance to tell the college admissions committee about yourself as an individual. The community essay, however, suggests that you depict yourself among others. You can use this opportunity to your advantage by showing off interpersonal skills, for example. Or, perhaps you wish to relate a moment that forged important relationships. This in turn will indicate what kind of connections you’ll make in the classroom with college peers and professors.

Apart from comprising numerous people, a community can appear in many shapes and sizes. It could be as small as a volleyball team, or as large as a diaspora. It could fill a town soup kitchen, or spread across five boroughs. In fact, due to the internet, certain communities today don’t even require a physical place to congregate. Communities can form around a shared identity, shared place, shared hobby, shared ideology, or shared call to action. They can even arise due to a shared yet unforeseen circumstance.

What is the Community Essay All About?             

In a nutshell, the community essay should exhibit three things:

• An aspect of yourself, 2. in the context of a community you belonged to, and 3. how this experience may shape your contribution to the community you’ll join in college.

It may look like a fairly simple equation: 1 + 2 = 3. However, each college will word their community essay prompt differently, so it’s important to look out for additional variables. One college may use the community essay as a way to glimpse your core values. Another may use the essay to understand how you would add to diversity on campus. Some may let you decide in which direction to take it—and there are many ways to go!

To get a better idea of how the prompts differ, let’s take a look at some real community essay prompts from the current admission cycle.

Sample 2023-2024 Community Essay Prompts

1) brown university.

“Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)”

A close reading of this prompt shows that Brown puts particular emphasis on place. They do this by using the words “home,” “College Hill,” and “where they came from.” Thus, Brown invites writers to think about community through the prism of place. They also emphasize the idea of personal growth or change, through the words “inspired or challenged you.” Therefore, Brown wishes to see how the place you grew up in has affected you. And, they want to know how you in turn will affect their college community.

“NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world-class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience.

We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community. Please respond in 250 words or less.”

Here, NYU places an emphasis on students’ “identity,” “backgrounds,” and “diversity,” rather than any physical place. (For some students, place may be tied up in those ideas.) Furthermore, while NYU doesn’t ask specifically how identity has changed the essay writer, they do ask about your “experience.” Take this to mean that you can still recount a specific moment, or several moments, that work to portray your particular background. You should also try to link your story with NYU’s values of inclusivity and opportunity.

3) University of Washington

“Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW. (300 words max) Tip: Keep in mind that the UW strives to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values and viewpoints.”

UW ’s community essay prompt may look the most approachable, for they help define the idea of community. You’ll notice that most of their examples (“families,” “cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood”…) place an emphasis on people. This may clue you in on their desire to see the relationships you’ve made. At the same time, UW uses the words “individual” and “richly diverse.” They, like NYU, wish to see how you fit in and stand out, in order to boost campus diversity.

Writing Your First Community Essay

Begin by picking which community essay you’ll write first. (For practical reasons, you’ll probably want to go with whichever one is due earliest.) Spend time doing a close reading of the prompt, as we’ve done above. Underline key words. Try to interpret exactly what the prompt is asking through these keywords.

Next, brainstorm. I recommend doing this on a blank piece of paper with a pencil. Across the top, make a row of headings. These might be the communities you’re a part of, or the components that make up your identity. Then, jot down descriptive words underneath in each column—whatever comes to you. These words may invoke people and experiences you had with them, feelings, moments of growth, lessons learned, values developed, etc. Now, narrow in on the idea that offers the richest material and that corresponds fully with the prompt.

Lastly, write! You’ll definitely want to describe real moments, in vivid detail. This will keep your essay original, and help you avoid cliché. However, you’ll need to summarize the experience and answer the prompt succinctly, so don’t stray too far into storytelling mode.

How To Adapt Your Community Essay

Once your first essay is complete, you’ll need to adapt it to the other colleges involving community essays on your list. Again, you’ll want to turn to the prompt for a close reading, and recognize what makes this prompt different from the last. For example, let’s say you’ve written your essay for UW about belonging to your swim team, and how the sports dynamics shaped you. Adapting that essay to Brown’s prompt could involve more of a focus on place. You may ask yourself, how was my swim team in Alaska different than the swim teams we competed against in other states?

Once you’ve adapted the content, you’ll also want to adapt the wording to mimic the prompt. For example, let’s say your UW essay states, “Thinking back to my years in the pool…” As you adapt this essay to Brown’s prompt, you may notice that Brown uses the word “reflection.” Therefore, you might change this sentence to “Reflecting back on my years in the pool…” While this change is minute, it cleverly signals to the reader that you’ve paid attention to the prompt, and are giving that school your full attention.

What to Avoid When Writing the Community Essay  

• Avoid cliché. Some students worry that their idea is cliché, or worse, that their background or identity is cliché. However, what makes an essay cliché is not the content, but the way the content is conveyed. This is where your voice and your descriptions become essential.
• Avoid giving too many examples. Stick to one community, and one or two anecdotes arising from that community that allow you to answer the prompt fully.
• Don’t exaggerate or twist facts. Sometimes students feel they must make themselves sound more “diverse” than they feel they are. Luckily, diversity is not a feeling. Likewise, diversity does not simply refer to one’s heritage. If the prompt is asking about your identity or background, you can show the originality of your experiences through your actions and your thinking.

Community Essay Examples and Analysis

Brown university community essay example.

I used to hate the NYC subway. I’ve taken it since I was six, going up and down Manhattan, to and from school. By high school, it was a daily nightmare. Spending so much time underground, underneath fluorescent lighting, squashed inside a rickety, rocking train car among strangers, some of whom wanted to talk about conspiracy theories, others who had bedbugs or B.O., or who manspread across two seats, or bickered—it wore me out. The challenge of going anywhere seemed absurd. I dreaded the claustrophobia and disgruntlement.

Yet the subway also inspired my understanding of community. I will never forget the morning I saw a man, several seats away, slide out of his seat and hit the floor. The thump shocked everyone to attention. What we noticed: he appeared drunk, possibly homeless. I was digesting this when a second man got up and, through a sort of awkward embrace, heaved the first man back into his seat. The rest of us had stuck to subway social codes: don’t step out of line. Yet this second man’s silent actions spoke loudly. They said, “I care.”

That day I realized I belong to a group of strangers. What holds us together is our transience, our vulnerabilities, and a willingness to assist. This community is not perfect but one in motion, a perpetual work-in-progress. Now I make it my aim to hold others up. I plan to contribute to the Brown community by helping fellow students and strangers in moments of precariousness.    

Brown University Community Essay Example Analysis

Here the student finds an original way to write about where they come from. The subway is not their home, yet it remains integral to ideas of belonging. The student shows how a community can be built between strangers, in their responsibility toward each other. The student succeeds at incorporating key words from the prompt (“challenge,” “inspired” “Brown community,” “contribute”) into their community essay.

UW Community Essay Example

I grew up in Hawaii, a world bound by water and rich in diversity. In school we learned that this sacred land was invaded, first by Captain Cook, then by missionaries, whalers, traders, plantation owners, and the U.S. government. My parents became part of this problematic takeover when they moved here in the 90s. The first community we knew was our church congregation. At the beginning of mass, we shook hands with our neighbors. We held hands again when we sang the Lord’s Prayer. I didn’t realize our church wasn’t “normal” until our diocese was informed that we had to stop dancing hula and singing Hawaiian hymns. The order came from the Pope himself.

Eventually, I lost faith in God and organized institutions. I thought the banning of hula—an ancient and pure form of expression—seemed medieval, ignorant, and unfair, given that the Hawaiian religion had already been stamped out. I felt a lack of community and a distrust for any place in which I might find one. As a postcolonial inhabitant, I could never belong to the Hawaiian culture, no matter how much I valued it. Then, I was shocked to learn that Queen Ka’ahumanu herself had eliminated the Kapu system, a strict code of conduct in which women were inferior to men. Next went the Hawaiian religion. Queen Ka’ahumanu burned all the temples before turning to Christianity, hoping this religion would offer better opportunities for her people.

Community Essay (Continued)

I’m not sure what to make of this history. Should I view Queen Ka’ahumanu as a feminist hero, or another failure in her islands’ tragedy? Nothing is black and white about her story, but she did what she thought was beneficial to her people, regardless of tradition. From her story, I’ve learned to accept complexity. I can disagree with institutionalized religion while still believing in my neighbors. I am a product of this place and their presence. At UW, I plan to add to campus diversity through my experience, knowing that diversity comes with contradictions and complications, all of which should be approached with an open and informed mind.

UW Community Essay Example Analysis

This student also manages to weave in words from the prompt (“family,” “community,” “world,” “product of it,” “add to the diversity,” etc.). Moreover, the student picks one of the examples of community mentioned in the prompt, (namely, a religious group,) and deepens their answer by addressing the complexity inherent in the community they’ve been involved in. While the student displays an inner turmoil about their identity and participation, they find a way to show how they’d contribute to an open-minded campus through their values and intellectual rigor.

What’s Next

For more on supplemental essays and essay writing guides, check out the following articles:

• How to Write the Why This Major Essay + Example
• How to Write the Overcoming Challenges Essay + Example
• How to Start a College Essay – 12 Techniques and Tips
• College Essay

Kaylen Baker

With a BA in Literary Studies from Middlebury College, an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Translation from Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, Kaylen has been working with students on their writing for over five years. Previously, Kaylen taught a fiction course for high school students as part of Columbia Artists/Teachers, and served as an English Language Assistant for the French National Department of Education. Kaylen is an experienced writer/translator whose work has been featured in Los Angeles Review, Hybrid, San Francisco Bay Guardian, France Today, and Honolulu Weekly, among others.

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Blog > Essay Advice , Supplementals > How to Write a Community Supplemental Essay (with Examples)

How to Write a Community Supplemental Essay (with Examples)

Admissions officer reviewed by Ben Bousquet, M.Ed Former Vanderbilt University

Written by Kylie Kistner, MA Former Willamette University Admissions

Key Takeaway

If you're applying to college, there's a good chance you'll be writing a Community Essay for one (or lots) of your supplementals. In this post, we show you how to write one that stands out.

This post is one in a series of posts about the supplemental essays . You can read our core “how-to” supplemental post here .

When schools admit you, they aren’t just admitting you to be a student. They’re also admitting you to be a community member.

Community supplemental essays help universities understand how you would fit into their school community. At their core, Community prompts allow you to explicitly show an admissions officer why you would be the perfect addition to the school’s community.

Let’s get into what a Community supplemental essay is, what strategies you can use to stand out, and which steps you can take to write the best one possible.

What is a Community supplemental essay?

Community supplemental essay prompts come in a number of forms. Some ask you to talk about a community you already belong to, while others ask you to expand on how you would contribute to the school you’re applying to.

Let’s look at a couple of examples.

1: Rice University

Rice is lauded for creating a collaborative atmosphere that enhances the quality of life for all members of our campus community. The Residential College System and undergraduate life is heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural tradition each student brings. What life perspectives would you contribute to the Rice community? 500 word limit.

2: Swarthmore College

Swarthmore students’ worldviews are often forged by their prior experiences and exposure to ideas and values. Our students are often mentored, supported, and developed by their immediate context—in their neighborhoods, communities of faith, families, and classrooms. Reflect on what elements of your home, school, or community have shaped you or positively impacted you. How have you grown or changed because of the influence of your community?

Community Essay Strategy

Your Community essay strategy will likely depend on the kind of Community essay you’re asked to write. As with all supplemental essays, the goal of any community essay should be to write about the strengths that make you a good fit for the school in question.

How to write about a community to which you belong

Most Community essay prompts give you a lot of flexibility in how you define “community.” That means that the community you write about probably isn’t limited to the more formal communities you’re part of like family or school. Your communities can also include friend groups, athletic teams, clubs and organizations, online communities, and more.

There are two things you should consider before you even begin writing your essay.

What school values is the prompt looking for?

Whether they’re listed implicitly or explicitly, Community essay prompts often include values that you can align your essay response with.

To explain, let’s look at this short supplemental prompt from the University of Notre Dame:

If you were given unlimited resources to help solve one problem in your community, what would it be and how would you accomplish it?

Now, this prompt doesn’t outright say anything about values. But the question itself, even being so short, implies a few values:

a) That you should be active in your community

b) That you should be aware of your community’s problems

c) That you know how to problem-solve

d) That you’re able to collaborate with your community

After dissecting the prompt for these values, you can write a Community essay that showcases how you align with them.

What else are admissions officers learning about you through the community you choose?

In addition to showing what a good community member you are, your Community supplemental essays can also let you talk about other parts of your experience. Doing so can help you find the perfect narrative balance among all your essays.

Let’s use a quick example.

If I’m a student applying to computer science programs, then I might choose to write about the community I’ve found in my robotics team. More specifically, I might write about my role as cheerleader and principle problem-solver of my robotics team. Writing about my robotics team allows me to do two things:

Show that I’m a really supportive person in my community, and

Show that I’m on a robotics team that means a lot to me.

Now, it’s important not to co-opt your Community essay and turn it into a secret Extracurricular essay , but it’s important to be thinking about all the information an admissions officer will learn about you based on the community you choose to focus on.

How to write about what you’ll contribute to your new community

The other segment of Community essays are those that ask you to reflect on how your specific experiences will contribute to your new community.

It’s important that you read each prompt carefully so you know what to focus your essay on.

These kinds of Community prompts let you explicitly drive home why you belong at the school you’re applying to.

Here are two suggestions to get you started.

Draw out the values.

This kind of Community prompt also typically contains some kind of reference to values. The Rice prompt is a perfect example of this:

Rice is lauded for creating a collaborative atmosphere that enhances the quality of life for all members of our campus community . The Residential College System and undergraduate life is heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural tradition each student brings. What life perspectives would you contribute to the Rice community? 500 word limit.

There are several values here:

a) Collaboration

b) Enhancing quality of life

c) For all members of the community

d) Residential system (AKA not just in the classroom)

e) Sharing unique life experiences and cultural traditions with other students

Note that the actual question of the prompt is “What life perspectives would you contribute to the Rice community?” If you skimmed the beginning of the prompt to get to the question, you’d miss all these juicy details about what a Rice student looks like.

But with them in mind, you can choose to write about a life perspective that you hold that aligns with these five values.

Find detailed connections to the school.

Since these kinds of Community prompts ask you what you would contribute to the school community, this is your chance to find the most logical and specific connections you can. Browse the school website and social media to find groups, clubs, activities, communities, or support systems that are related to your personal background and experiences. When appropriate based on the prompt, these kinds of connections can help you show how good a fit you are for the school and community.

How to do Community Essay school research

Looking at school values means doing research on the school’s motto, mission statement, and strategic plans. This information is all carefully curated by a university to reflect the core values, initiatives, and goals of an institution. They can guide your Community essay by giving you more values options to include.

We’ll use the Rice mission statement as an example. It says,

As a leading research university with a distinctive commitment to undergraduate education, Rice University aspires to pathbreaking research , unsurpassed teaching , and contribution to the betterment of our world . It seeks to fulfill this mission by cultivating a diverse community of learning and discovery that produces leaders across the spectrum of human endeavor.

I’ve bolded just a few of the most important values we can draw out.

As we’ll see in the next section, I can use these values to brainstorm my Community essay.

How to write a Community Supplemental Essay

Step 1: Read the prompt closely & identify any relevant values.

When writing any supplemental essay, your first step should always be to closely read the prompt. You can even annotate it. It’s important to do this so you know exactly what is being asked of you.

With Community essays specifically, you can also highlight any values you think the prompt is asking you to elaborate on.

Keeping track of the prompt will make sure that you’re not missing anything an admissions officer will be on the lookout for.

Step 2: Brainstorm communities you’re involved in.

If you’re writing a Community essay that asks you to discuss a community you belong to, then your next step will be brainstorming all of your options.

As you brainstorm, keep a running list. Your list can include all kinds of communities you’re involved in.

Communities:

• Model United Nations
• Youth group
• Instagram book club
• My Discord group

Step 3: Think about the role(s) you play in your selected community.

Narrow down your community list to a couple of options. For each remaining option, identify the roles you played, actions you took, and significance you’ve drawn from being part of that group.

Community: Orchestra

These three columns help you get at the most important details you need to include in your community essay.

Step 4: Identify any relevant connections to the school.

Depending on the question the prompt asks of you, your last step may be to do some school research.

Let’s return to the Rice example.

After researching the Rice mission statement, we know that Rice values community members who want to contribute to the “betterment of our world.”

Ah ha! Now we have something solid to work from.

With this value in mind, I can choose to write about a perspective that shows my investment in creating a better world. Maybe that perspective is a specific kind of fundraising tenacity. Maybe it’s always looking for those small improvements that have a big impact. Maybe it’s some combination of both. Whatever it is, I can write a supplemental essay that reflects the values of the university.

Community Essay Mistakes

While writing Community essays may seem fairly straightforward, there are actually a number of ways they can go awry. Specifically, there are three common mistakes students make that you should be on the lookout for.

They don’t address the specific requests of the prompt.

As with all supplemental essays, your Community essay needs to address what the prompt is asking you to do. In Community essays especially, you’ll need to assess whether you’re being asked to talk about a community you’re already part of or the community you hope to join.

Neglecting to read the prompt also means neglecting any help the prompt gives you in terms of values. Remember that you can get clues as to what the school is looking for by analyzing the prompt’s underlying values.

They’re too vague.

Community essays can also go awry when they’re too vague. Your Community essay should reflect on specific, concrete details about your experience. This is especially the case when a Community prompt asks you to talk about a specific moment, challenge, or sequence of events.

Don’t shy away from details. Instead, use them to tell a compelling story.

They don’t make any connections to the school.

Finally, Community essays that don’t make any connections to the school in question miss out on a valuable opportunity to show school fit. Recall from our supplemental essay guide that you should always write supplemental essays with an eye toward showing how well you fit into a particular community.

Community essays are the perfect chance to do that, so try to find relevant and logical school connections to include.

Community Supplemental Essay Example

Example essay: robotics community.

University of Michigan: Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it. (Required for all applicants; minimum 100 words/maximum 300 words)

From Blendtec’s “Will it Blend?” videos to ZirconTV’s “How to Use a Stud Finder,” I’m a YouTube how-to fiend. This propensity for fix-it knowledge has not only served me well, but it’s also been a lifesaver for my favorite community: my robotics team(( The writer explicitly states the community they’ll be focusing on.)) . While some students spend their after-school hours playing sports or video games, I spend mine tinkering in my garage with three friends, one of whom is made of metal.

Last year, I Googled more fixes than I can count. Faulty wires, misaligned soldering, and failed code were no match for me. My friends watched in awe as I used Boolean Operators to find exactly the information I sought.(( The writer clearly articulates their place in the community.)) But as I agonized over chassis reviews, other unsearchable problems arose.

First((This entire paragraph fulfills the “describe that community” direction in the prompt.)) , there was the matter of registering for our first robotics competition. None of us familiar with bureaucracy, David stepped up and made some calls. His maturity and social skills helped us immediately land a spot. The next issue was branding. Our robot needed a name and a logo, and Connor took it upon himself to learn graphic design. We all voted on Archie’s name and logo design to find the perfect match. And finally, someone needed to enter the ring. Archie took it from there, winning us first place.

The best part about being in this robotics community is the collaboration and exchange of knowledge.((The writer emphasizes a clear strength: collaboration within their community. It’s clear that the writer values all contributions to the team.))  Although I can figure out how to fix anything, it’s impossible to google social skills, creativity, or courage. For that information, only friends will do. I can only imagine the fixes I’ll bring to the University of Michigan and the skills I’ll learn in return at part of the Manufacturing Robotics community((The writer ends with a forward-looking connection to the school in question.)) .

Want to see even more supplemental essay examples? Check out our college essay examples post . 

Liked that? Try this next.

How to Write Supplemental Essays that Will Impress Admissions Officers

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How to Write the “Community” and “Issue” Yale Essays

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Hale Jaeger in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info. 

What’s Covered

The “community” essay: choosing a community, structuring the “community” essay, the “issue” essay: choosing your issue, issues to avoid, structuring the “issue” essay.

In this article, we discuss strategies for writing Yale University ’s “Community” and “Issue” supplemental essays. Applicants using the Common App or Coalition Application to apply to Yale are required to choose one of these two prompts and respond to it in 400 words or fewer. The first prompt is the “Issue” essay prompt, which reads:

Yale carries out its mission “through the free exchange of ideas in an ethical, interdependent, and diverse community.” Reflect on a time when you exchanged ideas about an important issue with someone holding an opposing view. How did the experience lead you either to change your opinion or to sharpen your reasons for holding onto it? (400 words)

The second prompt is the “Community” essay prompt:

Reflect on a time when you have worked to enhance a community to which you feel connected. Why have these efforts been meaningful to you? You may define community however you like. (400 words)

In this article, we discuss choosing topics for each of these essays and strategies to structure them.

The Yale “Community” essay prompt clearly states that you can define community however you wish, which means you can choose to write about any kind of community that you feel you are a member of. When considering potential communities, start by brainstorming any groups you are part of that have defined boundaries, such as your town, school, team, or religious organization.

There are also informal communities that you could choose from, such as your friend group, family, coworkers, or neighborhood. Even though these groups have less of a formal definition, they are still communities. What matters most is that the community that you choose is important to you, that you have contributed to it, and that you have learned something from it.

When structuring this essay, think about it in three sections. The first introduces the community, the second demonstrates your contributions to the community, and the third explains what the community has given and taught you. As you write, keep in mind that this essay is a two-way street; you want to show what you have given to your community and what it has given you.

Introduce the Community

The first step in writing this essay is to introduce the community. Explain who is part of the community and what the community is like. Highlight the community’s structure by demonstrating how you are part of it and how you interact with your peers, superiors, or inferiors within the group. It is also important to depict the community’s dynamic in this part of the essay. For example, is it fun, relaxed, and loving, or is it rigorous, challenging, and thought provoking? 

Show What You’ve Contributed

The next section of this essay should discuss your engagement with this community and what you’ve contributed to it. Consider what you’ve done, what initiatives you’ve brought to the community, and what your role is within it. You can also highlight anything that you had to give up to be part of the community.

Show What You’ve Learned

The last part of this essay should discuss what you have gained and learned from this community. For this portion, consider things that the community has given and taught you, as well as ways that it has helped you grow. Think about how this community has shaped who you are and who you are becoming.

The other prompt option is the “Issue” essay. The first step for this one is to define what your issue is. It doesn’t matter what you choose, as long as it’s something that has enough nuance for you to talk about it in a complex and intelligent way.

Make sure it’s an issue of some relevance to you; otherwise, it will come across as dispassionate. As you write this essay, you should show that you are somebody who cares about an issue that they think is significant. 

Grand Issues

When selecting an issue, you can either choose a grand one or a local one. Grand issues are big, unsolved problems that are common in society, such as cancer, homelessness, or food insecurity. If you do choose a grand issue, remind yourself of its personal importance. While grand issues are full of nuance, they may lack personal meaning. Examples of personal connections to grand issues could be if you have encountered homelessness, lived with food insecurity, or have lost someone to cancer.

Local Issues

Another topic option is to write about an issue that is local. For example, maybe your high school has a teaching staff that doesn’t represent the diversity of the student body. While this is not a global issue, it’s something that strongly affects you and your community. 

Perhaps you live in a town that is directly suffering from the opioid crisis, or you have divorced parents and have started an activist group for children of divorced parents. Both of these examples of local issues also have personal importance. 

When choosing a topic to write about, avoid issues that you don’t have any connection to and that aren’t personally important. These are often problems that are too grand and can’t be made personal, such as world peace. 

Another category of issues to avoid is anything that doesn’t align with Yale’s values. Yale, like most universities in the United States, generally has a liberal lean. As such, it is likely not in your best interest to write a strong defense of socially conservative values. While there are values that you are free to hold and express—and Yale welcomes people of all backgrounds and ideologies—this essay is not necessarily the best place to express them.

You are most likely applying to Yale because it’s a place that you want to be and have something in common with. This essay is a great opportunity to emphasize the values that you share with the university rather than the things that divide you. Since a reader only has five to seven minutes to go over your entire application, you don’t want them to come away with the sense that you are somebody who won’t thrive at Yale.

Define the Issue and Highlight Past Experiences

When writing the “Issue” essay, start by identifying the issue and sharing how you came across it. Then, provide insight into why it is meaningful to you and your relationship with it.

Next, show the reader how you have already engaged with the problem by detailing your past with the issue. 

Discuss Future Plans to Approach the Issue

After this, you can look forward and discuss your future with this issue. A great strategy is to write about how your Yale education will address the problem and how your field of study relates to it. You can also highlight any Yale-specific programs or opportunities that will give you insight or context for tackling the issue. 

Alternatively, if there is something about this issue that Yale’s academic flexibility will enable you to explore, you can share that in this part of the essay. For example, maybe you are interested in health policy and plan to take classes in the sciences. You also want to take classes in the history of health, science, and medicine, as well as political science and economics courses, which you plan to utilize to write new healthcare policies.

Another option is to focus on an aspect of Yale’s community, such as peers, professors, or mentors who will help develop your ability to navigate the issue. Ultimately, you want to demonstrate in this essay that what (and how) you learn at Yale will prepare you to take action and move forward with confronting your issue in the future.

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• Section 5. Addressing Social Determinants of Health and Development

Chapter 17 Sections

• Section 1. An Introduction to the Problem-Solving Process
• Section 2. Thinking Critically
• Section 3. Defining and Analyzing the Problem
• Section 4. Analyzing Root Causes of Problems: The "But Why?" Technique
• Section 6. Generating and Choosing Solutions
• Section 7. Putting Your Solution into Practice
• Main Section

"Our children have dramatically different life chances depending on where they were born. In Japan or Sweden they can expect to live more than 80 years; in Brazil, 72 years; India, 63 years; and in one of several African countries, fewer than 50 years. And within countries, the differences in life chances are dramatic and are seen worldwide. The poorest of the poor have high levels of illness and premature mortality. But poor health is not confined to those worst off. In countries at all levels of income, health and illness follow a social gradient: the lower the socioeconomic position, the worse the health.

It does not have to be this way and it is not right that it should be like this. Where systematic differences in health are judged to be avoidable by reasonable action they are, quite simply, unfair. It is this that we label health inequity. Putting right these inequities – the huge and remediable differences in health between and within countries – is a matter of social justice. Reducing health inequities is...an ethical imperative. Social injustice is killing people on a grand scale." - excerpt from the 2008 World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health Final Report Executive Summary

What are social determinants of health and development?

“Social determinants” refer to broader social factors, such as income inequality or social exclusion, that lead to or influence health and development outcomes. In Section 4 of this chapter, for instance, a development worker in Mexico tells of realizing that one of the major causes of malnutrition in the area where he was working was not that there simply wasn’t enough food. Sharecropping farmers were able to grow enough to feed their families, but had to borrow seed from the landowner to plant their crops. The terms of the loan were that, for every liter of maize borrowed at planting time, three liters had to be repaid from the harvest. With this high interest rate, peasants went deeper and deeper into debt, and had to use more of their crop each year to pay the landowner. Without power, group solidarity, and influence, the farmers were unable to create conditions that assured the health and well-being of their families.

There is a great deal of research on the social determinants of health. Most of it points to three overarching factors:

• Income inequality . Once a country has reached the point of development where most deaths come not from infectious diseases (tuberculosis, dysentery, cholera, malaria, flu, pneumonia, etc.), but from chronic diseases (heart disease, diabetes, cancer), the economic and social equality within the society is a greater determinant of death rates and average lifespan than the country’s position with regard to others. The United States, for instance, lags behind Japan, Sweden, Canada, and many other less affluent countries in the life expectancy of its citizens. The difference seems to be the size of the gap between the most and least affluent segments of the society.
• Social connectedness . Many studies indicate that “belonging” – whether to a large extended family, a network of friends, a social or volunteer organization, or a faith community – is related to longer life and better health, as well as to community participation.
• Sense of personal or collective efficacy . This refers to people’s sense of control over their lives. People with a higher sense or stronger history of efficacy tend to live longer, maintain better health, and participate more vigorously in civic life.

Many of the social determinants listed below are specific forms of or contributors to these three categories. At a community level, it may be difficult to influence income inequality directly, but a non-governmental or community-based organization may be able to approach it through addressing a particular issue. A small organization may be able to have more effect on social connectedness and the sense of efficacy, since collective action can influence both social ties and the experience of changing communities and systems.

The World Health Organization, in its publication The Solid Facts, recognizes the need to break these factors down into more manageable pieces. It lists ten factors that affect health and life expectancy, and advocates addressing each within a comprehensive program of social protection that addresses all of them within a society. These ten factors are:

• The social gradient (extent of equity or the difference in wealth and opportunity between those with the most and those with the least)
• Early life experience
• Social exclusion (the opposite of social connectedness)
• Unemployment
• Social support

The factors listed below are, in most cases, more specific than the three broader determinants discussed above. In addressing social determinants, however, keep in mind these broader factors, and gear programs and policies toward influencing them at whatever level you can, given the resources and scope of your organization.

The social determinants of a particular community health or development issue may be unique to a particular community or group, or may be part of the larger society. People from different immigrant cultures, different social classes, or with different levels of education might experience the same issue very differently because of different social factors.

There are three major ways in which social determinants may affect specific populations. These can also be viewed as levers – points of intervention – that can be used to address those social determinants and lessen their effects.

1.  Differences in exposure. Certain population groups, because of economics, geography, or other factors, may be more likely than others to encounter particular health risks. People in poverty, for example, are likely to be exposed to higher levels of stress, economic uncertainty, and unhealthy conditions than their wealthier countrymen.

A specific example : in developing, or even middle-income, countries, poor rural villages may get all their water – for drinking, washing, waste disposal, and other uses – from a single, above-ground source, such as a lake or stream. In that case, the villagers are far more apt to be exposed to water-borne diseases and pollutants than wealthier neighbors who can afford to buy bottled water or drill a well.

2.  Differences in vulnerability. Because of their poverty, their exposure to stress and uncertainty, or other factors, those same population groups might find themselves more vulnerable than others to health problems. The inability to pay for regular health care or medical treatment increases the possibility of chronic illness. In the example of the village above, poor nutrition, as a result of poverty, could increase villagers’ vulnerability to water-borne disease, as would the inability to organize to finance a village well.

3.  Differences in consequences. Differences in wealth, social standing, connectedness, and other factors can lead to very different outcomes where health issues are concerned. For a middle- or upper-class family in many countries, a minor health problem – missing a few days of work, paying a modest sum for treatment – might be just an annoyance. For a poor family, it might be the difference between a roof over their heads and homelessness, or between children attending school and dropping out to go to work. Discrimination, high stress levels, employment conditions, and other factors can result in disparities in health and health care among different groups.

There are a number of social factors to address to improve conditions for health and development. Some of the more common factors to be addressed are:

Economic factors.

The unemployment rate, for example, has a great influence on such issues as domestic violence, substance use, depression, or physical illness. Economic inequality affects people’s stress levels, exposure to violence and toxins, educational prospects, access to services, high-risk behavior, and mortality rates.

Social inclusion.

Social connectedness and the cohesion of the community have been shown to have a direct relationship to good health and lower mortality rates. These factors can also encourage civic participation in changing conditions that affect group goals.

More education means not only better jobs and more affluence, but also a greater sense of control over one’s life. People with more education have more choices in health, housing, careers, and other areas that affect the quality of their lives.

Racial or ethnic bias.

Social exclusion can be the result of prejudice, which results in different access to health care, education, or other services.

Social norms of acceptance of particular behaviors or practices.

Smoking, or even alcohol abuse, may be an accepted part of the culture of a community. In that case, many more people will adopt it than in a community where it is frowned upon.

Cultural factors.

There are many elements of culture that might have a bearing on social inclusion, efficacy, and income inequality.

• Gender roles in different cultures may lead to differences in opportunities for men and women, and to disparities in nutrition, health, education, and life opportunities for their children as well.
• Food preferences in different cultures may have profound health effects. For centuries, for instance, the Japanese ate a diet consisting largely of rice, vegetables, and fish, and, at least partly as a result, experienced fewer heart health problems than the meat-and-potato eaters in the United States.

In many cases, people only one generation removed from rural poverty – as typified by many Eastern European immigrants to the U.S. in the early 20th century – may eat more fat because being able to eat fatty foods, such as meat, symbolizes wealth in peasant cultures. Many turn-of-the-20th-century immigrants to the U. S. – the grandparents of contemporary Americans – thought fat children were healthy children, because fat children clearly get enough to eat, as opposed to going hungry. Starvation was a real danger in the time and place of their childhoods.

• Religion can have profound effects on both health and development issues.
• Attitudes toward mainstream culture can influence everything from medical care to whether or not high school students can attend dances. This, in turn, affects the type and amount of health care received, the sense of connectedness within a community, and many other factors.
• Language barriers can cut people off from health care and other services, make it difficult for them to find and keep decent jobs, and affect their children’s education.

The influence of mass media.

The media, particularly television, can send powerful messages about community health and development. In the 1950s in the U.S., smoking was portrayed in movies, magazines, and TV as glamorous and sophisticated. Now, there are no TV ads for cigarettes, virtually no one in the movies smokes, and anti-smoking messages are everywhere. These conditions both reflect and are partially responsible for the fact that fewer than 25% of adults in the U.S. now smoke.

The media can help or hinder other efforts to improve health (through programming that shows people exercising as a matter of course, for instance, or that shows the same people eating fatty fast food or drinking too much). They can also, similarly, encourage or discourage tolerance for others, push a political agenda, or condone or condemn such behavior as solving disputes with violence and engaging in unsafe sex.

It is probably fair to say that all community issues are political to some degree. If a factory is poisoning town wells with its effluent, for example, local officials are faced with the choice of not dealing with the actual cause of the problem (the dumping of waste) and endangering citizens’ health, or addressing the dumping and endangering citizens’ jobs. Politicians with larger constituencies, using poll data, may pander to what they perceive as people’s selfishness and prejudice, passing legislation or instituting policies that discriminate against one group or another, or fly in the face of the public interest. Even honest differences of political opinion – over whether the government should be responsible for providing social services or not, for instance – can have enormous consequences in the community.

Living conditions.

Run-down or inadequate housing, dangerous streets, noise, and blighted neighborhoods all have their effects on those who experience them every day, as do manicured landscapes and calm environments. The stress of living in a difficult situation carries over into many other areas of life.

Location may have a great deal to do with whether people receive services or not. In developing countries, children from isolated villages in the mountains or on the seacoast may have no opportunity for school or medical care, for instance. In the U.S., as mentioned earlier, access to medical care and other services may depend on the availability of transportation. In urban areas, that access may have a lot to do with the neighborhood in which the services are located: another gang’s turf or a neighborhood perceived as hostile may be as effective in denying services as if they didn’t exist at all.

Why address social determinants of health and development?

Reasons for addressing the social determinants of an issue include:

If you want to solve or prevent a problem for the long term, you have to deal with its root causes .

If you address the root causes, you’re more likely to successfully address the issue for the short term as well . To cure a disease, you have to treat more than the symptoms – but you usually have to treat the symptoms, too. Dealing with social determinants will not only resolve the issue over the long term, but will make alleviating the current effects of the issue possible also.

To eliminate cholera, one of the most important steps is to provide people with clean drinking water. During the London cholera epidemic of 1854, John Snow, a physician, mapped the houses where the disease struck. He learned that many of the stricken were drawing water from a pump that tapped a filthy part of the Thames River, because conventional wisdom said it was better than the piped water also available to them – which actually came from a cleaner area. He was able to close the pump and substitute piped for pumped water, almost immediately ending the outbreak. Snow’s insights about the social determinants of cholera, along with the later work of others, eventually helped to eliminate the disease as a threat in most of the developed world. But they also served to stop the 1854 epidemic.

Who should address social determinants of community health and development?

The Community Tool Box advocates for participatory approaches to planning and, in this case, for a participatory approach to analysis and intervention as well. The presence of members of the groups affected by the issue will ensure that everyone knows its full context and history, as well as what various segments of the community might be willing and unwilling to do about it. Those who should be involved include:

• Those directly affected by, or at risk for, a particular health condition or community development issue.
• Policy makers, legislators, officials, or others who can affect the issue .
• Human services staff, administrators, and others (such as police officers, teachers, and coalition members) who are responsible for dealing with the issue at hand.
• Respected local figures, including advocates, clergy, and others in the community to whom people turn for support.
• Members of groups that may be asked to change or sacrifice or take action in order to address the issue. Employers, landlords and other property owners, health and human service workers, police, and teachers all might fall into this category.

When should you address social determinants of community health and development?

You should always look at the social factors that play a role in community issues, but there are some times when analysis of those factors is particularly important.

• When it’s clear that simply focusing on the issue isn’t enough . As cities have found again and again, all the enforcement in the world won’t really stop youth violence. There has to be a change in the culture that creates that violence.

In the late 1960s, Philadelphia was a city of gangs. One night in 1969 in North Philadelphia, there were five shootings in a one-square-block area. The neighborhood was crawling with police who were apparently powerless to stop the string of attempted revenge killings (“attempted” only because only three of the shootings were fatal). What eventually succeeded, a couple of years later, was a peacemaking effort that involved the gang leaders and that addressed the social issues that lay behind the existence of gangs and violence in the neighborhood: the isolation and alienation of black youth from the society at large, the lack of jobs, and the irrelevance of school to kids whose main concern was getting home alive. Gang members formed entrepreneurial businesses – making films, developing clothing lines – and school became relevant because education was necessary to run a business successfully. Community violence lessened as truces were signed and hope for a reasonable life grew.

• When you’re advocating for legislation, policy change, or funding to address a community issue . The legislation, policy, or funding – and therefore your advocacy – should address the underlying causes of the problem you’re trying to solve, as well as its symptoms. Otherwise, you’ll be dealing with the symptoms forever.
• When you’re trying to demonstrate that fundamental change is needed . Change is difficult for everyone. Trying to get a whole community to change its attitudes and/or behavior is even more difficult. Being able to explain clearly how the changes are related to positive results can make things easier.
• When you’re looking for long-term solutions to long-term problems . Long-term solutions are impossible without taking into account the root causes of the problems you want to solve. Analyzing the social determinants of those problems makes it possible to address them, and come to real, permanent solutions.
• When your focus is on community wellness and prevention . Whether you’re trying to guard against a disease or debilitating condition, or trying to create a healthy community, you have to look at the issue as a whole in order to be successful. You can’t lower your blood pressure, for instance, without adjusting your diet, exercise, stress levels, and daily activities, all of which may be governed, to some extent, by social as well as personal factors. By the same token, you can’t alter racial tensions in a community without somehow addressing all the history that led to those tensions, the preconceptions and misconceptions on both sides, personal experiences, the attitudes of community officials and police, the racial prejudice endemic in the society, etc.

How do you address social determinants of community health and development?

Now that you’re convinced that addressing the social factors that cause or influence community health and development issues is important, how do you go about doing so? There are really two parts to addressing social determinants. The first is identifying how various social factors affect the issue you’re concerned with, and the second is developing and implementing an action plan based on an understanding of how, and from what angle, to approach them successfully in order to change the way the issue plays out in the community and, ultimately, resolve the problem.

Identifying social determinants

The issue you’re dealing with may be obvious, but it’s likely that all of its social determinants are not. There may be local customs that seem so obvious to the folks you’re working with that they don’t consider them worth mentioning, even though they may control a great deal of the community’s functioning. If they’re unique to that community or region, and you’re not a native, you’ll have to learn about them if you have any hope of changing conditions. In other cases, social factors may have to be traced through several layers of the society before you reach the point where they originate and can be influenced. The way to find out about these and other social determinants is to do a community assessment.

Assess the community to find the social determinants of your issue . The purpose of community assessment is largely to assess the community for needs and assets, but the strategies it proposes are equally useful in searching for social determinants of health and development.

• Start by talking to people:
• Community leaders
• Members of the group most affected by the issue
• Government officials
• Staff and volunteers of non-governmental health and community development organizations (NGO’s)
• Community activists and organizers
• Anyone who has a stake in the issue you are trying to address

If there are conflicting factions or “sides” involved in the issue, it’s important to hear from all of them. Even if you’re clear about who’s in the right, or about what needs to happen in order for the issue to be resolved, understanding all points of view can tell you a great deal about the social factors that underlie the situation in the community.

You can hear what people have to say in various ways:

• Individual interviews
• Group interviews
• Focus groups
• Community meetings
• Informal conversations
• Listening and observation at gatherings held for other purposes
• Learning as much as you can about community history. Social determinants of health and development often run deep and go back generations.

The Battle of Montaperti was fought between the Italian cities of Florence and Siena, then independent republics, in 1260. In the 21st century, a sports contest between the two, whether on the high school or professional level, often spurs a cry of “Remember Montaperti” by the Sienese – the victors 750 years ago.

Apply critical thinking principles to analyze the results of the assessment. Very briefly, these include:

• Make sure your information is accurate.
• Consider the reliability of your sources.
• Examine and challenge your own and others’ assumptions and biases.
• Identify the interests being served or ignored.
• Ask the right questions. This could also be considered a principle of critical thinking, and dovetails with the “But why?” technique. Some of the questions you might want to ask are:
• Whom does the issue affect?
• What do those affected have in common? Class? Race or ethnicity? Gender? Physical characteristics? Geographical origin or location? Behavior or personal practices? Lifestyle? Education? Employment? Personal history? Culture? Interests? Other characteristics?
• What is the history of the issue in the community? When did it become an issue? What else was happening at the time, both in the community and in the society at large?
• Who stands to gain, and who stands to lose – socially, economically, or politically – if nothing changes?
• Who stands to gain, and who stands to lose if changes are made? Is there a win-win option, where everyone benefits?
• Who has the power to create change in this situation? What are reasons they may or may not do so?
• Where is the issue centered, geographically and socially?
• Are there economic aspects to the issue? What would it cost to change the situation or to leave it as it is, and who would bear the cost in either case?

The “But why?” technique  is actually quite simple. Once you have the answer to an initial question, you follow up the answer with “But why?” The answer to that question gets another “But why?” until you get as far as you can go. At that point, you have an answer that identifies the root of the problem, and therefore implies a solution.

Addressing social determinants

As we’ve discussed, most social determinants come down to:

• Economic inequality
• Social connectedness
• A sense of efficacy

The lower people’s economic levels, the less connected they are to others – through family, social groups and organizations, faith communities, etc.; the less convinced they are of their ability to control their situations and their lives, the greater the likelihood that they’ll experience more health problems than those in the society who fare better in those categories.

And as we’ve also discussed, particular individuals or populations are most likely to be disadvantaged by health problems because of:

• Differences between them and others in the society in the level of their exposure to those problems.
• Differences in their vulnerability to those problems.
• Differences in the consequences to them of those problems.

These characteristics feed each other in a cycle of poverty and powerlessness. An effective intervention has to break that cycle by understanding the social determinants behind it and changing them and the conditions that they cause in a truly profound way.

You can develop interventions that can reduce people’s exposure to, their vulnerability to, and their consequences from health problems, and that can also encourage gains in economic equality, social connectedness, and efficacy. By doing so, you can help people not only improve their health and that of their children, but move up the ladder of economic and social status, thus cementing their gains, and securing them for the next generation.

This may seem like an impossible task. How can you change a society? It’s hard for governments and even harder for most NGOs and community-based organizations, given the limits on their resources. Major social change often takes not a single type of intervention, but an all-out assault on a number of social factors over a long period of time. Unless you’re a high government official, or have access to unlimited funds, you’re probably not planning anything that broad . . . and you don’t have to.

Rather than trying to concentrate on the huge issues, you can intervene in the environmental and policy conditions that reflect social determinants and that can more easily affect differences in exposure, vulnerability, and consequences. In the process of addressing these types of issues, the folks you’re concerned with can learn much of what they need to change their position in society.

Environmental here refers not just to the natural environment, but to the total environment of the people in question. That includes the built environment – buildings, roads, power sources, farms, etc. – as well as the social environment – culture, social rules and norms, government, business, education, economics, etc.. The term “environment” here encompasses all the natural and human physical, social, economic, and political structures that surround people’s lives.

Environmental and policy conditions include:

• Knowledge and skills . Individual and group knowledge and experience affect the availability of resources for supporting health and well-being. A villager who understands how to advocate with the government for clean drinking water, for instance, can greatly enhance the health prospects of his community.

Helping people gain knowledge and skills can be an intervention in itself, or be part of a broader intervention that nonetheless provides participants with tools to safeguard or improve their health and their lives. Some community development programs, for example, include literacy classes as part of the support they provide. With literacy, participants gain skills that allow them to continue and expand the community development activities they’ve begun, or to get jobs that will better serve them and their families. Literacy also gives people who’ve typically been powerless a means to power over their lives by helping them understand the forces working on them (not to mention the terms of contracts and other papers to which they’re asked to agree), and take action on their own behalf. Providing knowledge of specific health issues and practices can have a dramatic effect on the health of a community. Safe sex practices, for instance, can cut down on the incidence of HIV infection, and information about the treatment of infant diarrhea can drastically reduce infant mortality. In both these examples, addressing a specific issue serves to address efficacy, and, in the case of literacy training, economic inequality as well. Depending on how programs are structured, most can also address social connectedness, either by bringing a community or population group together to work on an issue, or by creating a community among those involved (in literacy classes, for example.)

• Support within and between groups . Emotional support from family and friends, such as for the stress of difficult work or family situations, helps us cope with situations that cannot be easily changed. Links with other groups, such as faith communities or non-governmental organizations (NGOs), can provide access to goods and services. Just as important, joining with other groups to work for increased resources and better health conditions can permanently improve the quality of community life.

Again, an intervention to connect people or groups with others may stand alone, or may be integrated into a larger concept. A government agency might encourage groups to combine across ethnic or geographic lines in order to receive funding or training for health and community development projects. In a situation where the government is perceived as withholding support, a group of villages without access to health care, for instance, might come together to petition the government for a centrally located health clinic that would be easily reachable for all of them. Groups like this represent the most fundamental kind of community organizing , which brings groups and communities together to advocate for their interests and to take control of what happens to them.

• Barriers to, access to, and opportunities for resources and services . Some social groups, such as women or ethnic minorities, face discrimination and other barriers in gaining access to education, jobs, and basic services. The quality and availability of even basic education and health services are unfairly distributed among social groups.

In cases where education, jobs, services, and other necessities are unequally distributed, the appropriate action may be to organize the community, as above, to demand equal treatment; to use the court system to try to gain access and opportunity; or to attempt to address the issue locally, using available community assets and the initiative of local people. If the initiative comes from the government, it might create programs that remove or address barriers to opportunities and services, such as discrimination, unaffordable expense, geographic isolation, lack of transportation, illiteracy, and lack of job skills.

• Consequences of Actions . Research has long shown that people are more apt to take or continue action if it rewards them with goods, peer approval, pleasure, status, satisfaction, or the desired results than if it punishes them with high costs, disapproval, misery, loss of status, dissatisfaction, or frustration. If gaining access to health care or to healthy goods or practices is difficult, slow, and tedious, and often ends in failure, it won’t be long before people stop trying.

A possible remedy here is, as above, to improve access and break down barriers to access to goods and services, thus making the attempt to obtain them less frustrating and more likely to be repeated. Strategies might include providing transportation to and from existing services or distribution points, locating new services closer to where they’re needed, or lessening bureaucratic requirements. If the intervention involves action by participants, actions should be planned in small steps, so that people can easily experience success, at least at the beginning. A series of small successes is more likely to develop a sense of efficacy and keep people moving ahead than a grand failure.

• Exposure to or protection from hazards . Contact with environmental hazards – polluted water, toxic substances or dangerous practices in the workplace, endemic diseases such as malaria, widespread violence – increase risk for disease or injury. By the same token, actions taken to reduce or eliminate those hazards – drilling a new well, instituting protective workplace safety procedures, disease eradication campaigns, negotiating a peace treaty – work to make disease or injury less probable.

An intervention to decrease or prevent exposure to hazards can take any one of several forms. A self-help program to dig a well or use filters to obtain clean water, channel sewage, grow food without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, eliminate VOCs (volatile organic compounds, often-toxic chemicals – used in glues, dyes, paint, and solvents – that vaporize at room temperature and can affect the health of many people) in a building, or clean up a neighborhood can not only improve health conditions, but increase participants’ sense of efficacy as well. A different approach might involve advocacy for government assistance or services – drilling a well, installing a sewer system, establishing a health clinic, instituting public transportation, etc. – or to pass or prevent laws that affect exposure to health risks. These actions would speak to both social connectedness (community organizing brings communities or groups together to apply pressure and advocate effectively) and participants’ sense of efficacy. A third possibility that also addresses both social connectedness and efficacy might involve an initiative to change the behavior of – or prosecute – a corporation or other party responsible for pollution, unsafe workplace practices, illegal dumping, shoddy and dangerous construction, selling harmful products, or other potential hazards.

• Policies . Policies that affect community health and development may be formal or informal, and may be those of governmental or non-governmental bodies (e.g., corporations, institutions, foundations, professional associations). They may relate to the provision of goods and services (e.g., clean water, adequate food, health care, education, housing) or to regulations and their enforcement (e.g., environmental and drug laws, welfare rules, trade regulations, non-discrimination laws in employment and education.) Public policies often mirror a community’s or society’s norms (the unspoken rules of “how things should be”), and, as a result, are often a direct reflection of social determinants.

Changing or instituting policy is generally a matter of advocacy. It’s important because policies can, and do, affect all three of the differences – in exposure, vulnerability, and consequences – that create less healthy conditions for populations at risk. An initiative aimed at policy change can start at any level. It may begin with government, with the realization by legislators, other elected or appointed officials, or an agency that some sizeable group of citizens is in danger of, or already suffering from, disparities in health. It may begin with an NGO or grassroots organization that works with (or is composed of) that group. Or it may begin with the people themselves, who have simply come to the end of their patience with their situation. Policy change is often difficult, but, in the long run, it can be the most effective means of improving health and development outcomes, because it can lead to real social change. The ideal intervention would be one that either originates with, or involves those who will benefit from the change in question, since that gives them control over what happens to them.

Several principles, assumptions, and values help guide collaborative action to create conditions that promote health and development. These include:

• Priority issues and strategies for collaborative action are best determined by people most affected by the concern. This can enhance community efficacy and empowerment, and is also most likely to address the issues most important to those involved.
• Since health and development outcomes are caused by multiple and interrelated factors at multiple levels, single interventions are likely to be insufficient. This suggests the importance of comprehensive interventions that address environmental and policy conditions at all levels.

Multi-pronged, multi-faceted interventions are the ideal, and are, in general, necessary to create real and permanent social change. The reality for small organizations, however, is that such interventions may not be possible, because of limited resources and geographic and/or political isolation. There are at least two ways to deal with this reality: One is to form a coalition, pulling in other organizations – including national and international NGOs and even the government where possible – to mount a collaborative effort on many fronts. The second is to develop a long-range strategic plan that takes as its base the saying of the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, “The longest journey begins with a single step.” That involves starting with a single issue in order to tackle something manageable and achieve a success that will energize and empower those affected. Then you can go on to the next issue and the next, always maintaining and consolidating gains as you go. In this way, you can end up with an effort that addresses the full range of social determinants, without exceeding your capacity at the beginning. It may take a while, but your chances of creating real change are better if you take it step by step, as long as you don’t lose sight of the goal.

• Collaborative efforts must bring about change in multiple sectors and systems. (This requires leadership to engage groups with different interests, such as those in business or education, to share resources and responsibilities in common purpose.

Again, depending on your resources, even a coalition or other collaborative body might have to take this one step at a time.

• The aim of support organizations is to build capacity so that local people can take action over time and across issues.

Capacity-building involves helping local people gain the skills and knowledge – and establish or strengthen the community organizations and institutions – necessary to allow them to take action and control their own fate. That may entail direct training, using resources like the Community Tool Box, and a certain amount of “on-the-job training”. There’s no substitute for experience in health and community development, although having some background before you’re thrown into it is certainly helpful.

At some point – earlier is usually better than later, and from the beginning is often best – local people have to be directly involved in planning and carrying out strategies for improving their situation. Taking on responsibility and leadership positions builds both a sense of efficacy and connectedness in the local population, and also puts their future where it belongs – in their own hands.

• Health and development efforts should involve collaborative partners as catalysts for change. (Partners must convene conversations that lead to addressing the issue, broker relationships, and develop resources for those doing the work of changing communities and systems.)

Partners can be NGOs or community health or development organizations, government agencies, corporations, academic institutions, faith communities – any party that is generally respected, has some clout, and can function as an honest broker.

As is perhaps obvious from the discussion directly above, an important goal of addressing social determinants is strengthening the ability of the community to sustain the changes that an intervention brings about. If a population is malnourished, giving them food is only a temporary solution: helping them to develop self-sufficient and sustainable farming practices, or training them for necessary and available work, on the other hand, can be permanent ones.

Another important goal is to take on tasks that can actually be accomplished. A local entrepreneur, owner of a large and flourishing tire business, a real estate development firm, and several other successful ventures, was asked how he got to the position he was in. His answer was simple: “Crawl, walk, run.” He started small, with something he knew he could handle. When he succeeded at that, he used it as a base to take on something a bit more challenging, consolidated his gains again when he succeeded at that, and just kept going.

Social change often works the same way. Success breeds success, and you’re far more likely to be successful if you attempt something that’s challenging but doable. Once you accomplish it, you have a foundation from which to address the next issue, or the next level of issues. Communities never lack the most important resource – people, and their intelligence and determination – but they may lack the material resources that allow them to attempt overall social change – change that entails addressing several social factors and levels of power – all at once. They can do it, however, if they take it one step at a time.

The last bit of how-to in this section will be familiar to regular Tool Box users. You have to keep taking that one step at a time again and again and again for as far into the future as you want your community to exist. Addressing social determinants of health and development isn’t a one-time thing. People have to maintain their gains and their healthy practices, and teach the next generation what they’ve learned about creating a healthy community, so that it will continue to be one.

“Social determinants” of health and development issues are the social factors that determine or influence the issues. Most fall into the three categories of economic inequality, social connectedness, and sense of efficacy. By understanding and addressing these social factors, you can increase your chances of resolving issues over the long term by getting at their root causes.

It makes sense to use a participatory approach to analyze and address social determinants of health and development issues. By including those who know the history and context of the issue, and by subjecting it to analysis from many minds and perspectives, you’re more likely to arrive at a thorough understanding of it. This kind of analysis is especially effective when it’s clear that simply putting a Band-Aid on the symptoms of the issue isn’t enough, and that you have to employ a long-term strategy in order to address it effectively. Such a strategy may incorporate advocacy for a change in law or policy and leadership training, as well as community-based actions.

A community assessment will help you understand what the social determinants are in a particular case. By asking the right questions to determine community reality – Who is affected and how? What are the patterns in who is affected, who is opposed to action, what are the interests at stake? What are the costs of action and inaction, and who will pay them? – and talking to those affected and others who may already know what the social determinants are in the situation, you can create a complete picture of the issue.

Using that picture, you can address the social factors in order to reduce the population’s exposure to, vulnerability to, and consequences from the issue at hand. The best approach is usually through environmental and policy conditions, rather than through attempting to change social factors – which can be far-reaching and ingrained in the culture of the society – all at once. Work toward incremental, sustainable change, help local people learn the skills to take over and continue the effort themselves, and make sure the effort continues indefinitely, and you’ll ultimately be successful in developing a healthy community.

Online Resources

ACTION: SDH The aim of this tool from the World Health Organization is to provide public health, and other practitioners on the social determinants of health, with a one-stop portal. ACTION:SDH houses knowledge on the social determinants according to the five social determinants of health action areas identified in the 2011 World Conference on Social Determinants of Health. It also provides a platform for discussion of action on the social determinants of health. There are currently three main features to the tool:

• embedded web-pages pages on SDH knowledge relevant to the five action areas for SDH that were identified in the Rio Declaration;
• discussion forums that can be used to share tacit knowledge from practice - either by invitation only, or open to all members;
• a document repository that initially is housing selected WHO materials on SDH - documents are classified as Examples (case studies), Tools & Resources, and E-library.

Actively Addressing Systemic Racism Using a Behavioral Community Approach  - a journal article from Behavior and Social Issues .

Can Hospitals Heal America's Communities?  from Democracy Collaborative illuminates the possibilities of hospitals and health systems healing America’s communities and explores how “all in for mission” is the emerging healthcare model.

CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report

Health disparities are differences in health outcomes between groups that reflect social inequalities. Despite progress over the past 20 years in reducing this problem, racial/ethnic, economic and other social disparities in health still exists and need to be addressed. This report is the first in a periodic series examining health disparities in the United States. The report can also be found as a  PDF .

Chapter 13: Stress and Coping in the "Introduction to Community Psychology" details stress, its different forms, coping, coping strategies and styles, and how individuals and communities become resilient.

Closing the Gap in a Generation 2008 World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health Final Report Executive Summary

Closing the Gap: Policy into Practice on Social Determinants of Health This discussion paper for the 2011 World Conference on Social Determinants of Health shares experiences on how to address the challenges posed by health inequities and to mobilize commitment to the urgent implementation of feasible actions on social determinants in all countries. The paper lays out the key components that all countries need to integrate in their own context in implementing a social determinants approach, and was used at the World Conference to consider these themes and show how, in all contexts, it is possible to put policy into practice on social determinants of health to improve health, reduce health inequities, and promote development.

BALLE's field guide,  The Future of Health is Local , gives health care providers actionable tools and examples on how to align the non-clinical assets of their organizations – such as procurement, employment, and investment – with local economic development strategies to improve human health and revitalize local communities.

Health and Well-Being for All Meeting-in-a-Box from the CDC Foundation is an innovative and compelling way to explore the potential root causes of illness—the social determinants of health—with health and health care professionals at all stages of professional development. It provides everything needed to explore the determinants underlying health problems faced by patients and communities. This hands-on tool simulates a 6-step process for leading change to improve the community’s health.

HealthEquityGuide.org   is a website with a set of strategic practices that health departments can apply to more meaningfully and comprehensively advance health equity.

Health Equity Animated: Equity vs. Equality  from the Center for Prevention in Minnesota explores the difference between the needs of various communities, and how addressing those specific needs requires specific solutions.

This ColorCode  “Housing Is Health Care” podcast  delves into how housing — and today’s housing crisis — intersects with health. It also explores how racial discrimination has played a part in causing this crisis, as well as present-day housing segregation on Long Island.

Michael Marmot and the Social Determinants of Health is a video from the American Public Health Association outlining key considerations in addressing the social determinants of health to ensure social justice.

No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity for Black Women from The Nonprofit Quarterly.

Pew Charitable Trusts provides an article regarding holistic approaches made by partnerships to promote healthy birth outcomes.

Social Determinants of Health in Rural Communities Toolkit by the Rural Health Information Hub organizes evidence-based models and resources to support the implementation of programs that address the social determinants of health (SDOH) in rural communities across the United States.

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Training Plan  from the TRAIN Learning Network provides over a dozen hours of training over the foundational concepts and their applications to various issues.

Tackling social determinants of health through community-based initiatives An article by M. Assai, S. Siddiqi, and S. Watts, provided by the British Medical Journal. Also available in  PDF  format. Also available in print in BMJ, vol. 333, 21 October, 2006.

7 Things Advocates Should Know When Communicating about Health Equity Berkeley Media Studies Group blog about using the media strategically to advance policies that improve health.

Seven Vital Conditions for Health and Well-Being  is a useful framework for conceptualizing holistic well-being and the conditions that give rise to it, as well as identifying levers for community change and improvement.

Social Determinants and HIV/AIDS  is a short discussion of the social determinants of health and their relationship to HIV treatment and prevention, from the British Columbia, Canada, Ministry of Health Services.

Social Determinants of Health and Older Adults  covers new resources made available by health.gov specifically focusing on the health of older adults.

The Solid Facts   is a booklet about the social determinants of health, edited by Richard Wilkinson and Michael Marmot, from the International Centre for Health and Society at the University College of London.

The Sustainable Development Goals Guide is a preliminary guide on how to "get started" with implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.

Transformational Community Engagement to Advance Health Equity is a report with case studies from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

What is Healthy Equity?  This three-minute motion graphic video explains how social, economic, and environmental conditions can create health inequities and how these inequities can affect health disparities.

What is Privilege? A video from BFMP at Buzzfeed.

Print Resources

Bonnefoy, J.,Morgan, A., Kelly, M.,Butt, J., Bergman, V., With Tugwell, P., Robinson,V., Exworthy, M.,  Mackenbach, J.,  Popay, J., Pope, C., Narayan, T., Myer, L., Simpson, S., Houweling, T., &  Jadue, L,.  Constructing the evidence base on the social determinants of health: A guide .

Health in an Unequal World. Harveian Lecture by Michael Marmet. The Lancet, vol. 368, Dec. 9, 2006.

Undertaken as work for the Measurement and Evidence Knowledge Network  (MEKN) established as part of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, and run by the Universidad de Desarollo, Chile. November, 2007.

10 Community Problems and 10 Solutions

We present here 10 community problems and 10 solutions. They cover food, energy, housing, social, education, economics, transportation, and more.

We all live and interact in communities of various sizes. Our towns and cities are the communities most people think of, but we also work in communities, go to school and/or take our kids to schools that have their own community structures, and we usually belong to various social and recreational communities too. As a person and parent living on this planet of finite resources, I’m very focused on solutions and approaches that make our communities more sustainable. As the Director of the One Community Global nonprofit , I’m also interested in community solutions that can be applied globally.

With this in mind, here are 10 common community problems and 10 solutions. If you’d like information on how One Community is integrating these into ultra-sustainable communities that will function as self-sufficient and self-replicating teacher/demonstration hubs , click the related icons.

FOOD SOLUTIONS

Large-scale applications for global change.

Duplicable food infrastructure designed to produce food that is grown on-site. Food grown this way will be fresher and can be produced without pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. In addition, it will be more diverse than what people find in the grocery store because it is grown as part of our open source botanical garden model .

ENERGY SOLUTIONS

Duplicable energy infrastructure including solar , wind , and hydro to help people eliminate their power bills and be a source of revenue for those still connected to the grid. Also, built to evolve and grow with the evolution and expansion of new technologies too.

HOUSING SOLUTIONS

If the above plugin doesn't allow fullscreen, try a different browser. If that or anything else still isn't working for you, you can download a copy of the above book here:  Book PDF download (128 MB)

EDUCATION SOLUTIONS

Duplicable education models designed for all ages, built to exceed traditional educational standards, and modifiable for application in a homeschooling environment, a traditional schooling environment, or for use as a complete community-based private schooling program.

SOCIAL/RECREATIONAL SOLUTIONS

Duplicable social architecture and recreation models built within “ True Community ” and designed to provide a more enriching and fulfilling living experience . All on-site, freely available, and providing more activity diversity than most metropolitan areas.

SUSTAINABLE ECONOMICS

Duplicable for-profit and non-profit business infrastructure that prioritizes cooperation and collaboration over competition. Resource based economy application and a model for sharing it globally .

STEWARDSHIP SOLUTIONS

Duplicable “Highest Good” approaches to all aspects of life . This includes community and individually applicable lifestyle considerations and small and large-scale recycling, reuse, and repurposing options for all areas: paper , plastic , glass , polystyrene/styrofoam , clothing/cloth , food and other perishable items , and even non-recyclables .

TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS

Transportation is another common community challenge. It includes cost of ownership and maintenance, parking and other space needs, and vehicle contributions to the climate crisis. Co-ownership, ride sharing, alternative transportation (bike, scooter, moped, etc.), and public transportation are all common solutions to this. The larger the community participating, the more effective and convenient these solutions all are.

DIY duplicable housing infrastructure designed to demonstrate community and localized living with almost everything a person needs or would want within walking distance. Models like these will eliminate the need for regular car use, but everyone will still have access to a car anytime they need or want one.

VALUES DIFFERENCES

Values differences are arguably the most destructive community challenge. Religion, politics, lifestyle preferences, dietary preferences, how to raise kids, pets, etc. can all be areas where people passionately differ in their opinions and perspectives. If unresolvable conflicts are arising, your values differences may not be sustainable. One way to address this is to choose to focus on the areas you agree. A second way is to be more transparent with your values and primarily build community with others who share them.

Duplicable and adaptable values structures based on compassion, kindness, and what we call living and creating for “ The Highest Good of All .”

GLOBAL IMPLEMENTATION

Almost everyone can look at the list above and see something they would like to implement but find really challenging. Some would even like to implement all of these ideas, but how? Local, national, and global communities are the answer. Groups of people will find it easier to implement these solutions, even the individual ones. Find a group or start one, there are so many resources out there and every action makes a difference. The bigger the community, the bigger the difference.

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Community Problems

There are many aspects that can bring communities together and also tear them apart. Some factors effecting communities include language, racial communities, and war. Some factors can include good and bad properties that effect all people inside and outside the communities. Communities can create good reactions to other people around them and can also cause negative reactions.

Language can act as a barrier in communities and can divide people against each other. When people speak different languages, it can often cause feelings of resentment toward the person who can not understand. Language can be used to ridicule or humiliate other people who do not understand the other language. 'Sometimes these things are innocuous, depending on the particular word in which it is used. Often the serve to ridicule or humiliate.' (Leong pg.354) Sometimes when another person is speaking anther language, another person may believe that that person is saying something bad about him/her. Language can often define insiders from outsiders in a specific community. 'Language has the ability to heal or harm, praise or belittle, to promote peace, or even glorify hate.' (Leong pg.354) If a person hears another person speaking another language, that that person may not understand, then he/she may feel like an outsider and may feel they do not belong.

Language can also be a factor that unifies communities. Language can often unify people that speak the same language in making them feel comfortable with their surroundings. Language creates a sense of belonging to those around the person who speaks the same language. Language often gives identity and makes someone feel they are their own person. Language can make a person feel accepted, and not feel like an outsider.

Racial communities more often than not divide certain communities from one another. Many times a racial community will exclude other communities from being welcome into their community. Racial communities can build tension between other racial communities. Racial communities can often be dominated from other communities and leave a sense of inferiorness. 'It would all be true, the accusations that we were lower types of human beings. Only a little higher than apes.' (Angelou pg.54) Often times a racial community that is dominated by another community may feel they need to defend themselves from the other community and may take action that may lead to more hate in the long run. (My race groaned. It was our people falling. It was another lynching, yet another Black man hanging on a tree.' (Angelou pg.53) Also, distrust may build between two racial communities and furthermore cause more problems and tension.

Another aspect of racial communities deals with the presence of slavery from the past. Slavery caused many problems and although absent, is still causing tension to this day. Races that were enslaved in the past often feel in the present that they do not belong and are still not accepted where they live. 'One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land.' (King pg.438)Slavery caused feelings of distrust and even hate due to what happened in the past. Slavery only caused problems in the past, and although we have almost eliminated all the hurt feelings from the past, some tension still remains. 'But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.' (King pg.437) People are often ignorant to other peoples feelings, and do not realize that it is not acceptable to look down on a certain race. As times change, this problem is getting better. Along with slavery, comes the feeling of inferiority between races. Often times a race will tend to dominate another race making the dominated race feel inferior and can even be scared for their well bieng.

War can often have divisive properties and also have uniting properties at the same time. War can tear nations apart and cause deep rooted hatred. War can destroy lives, and cause divisions between nations, races, and countries. War can effect nations not only in the present, but in the future. Communities at war with each other will tend to cause tension and harsh feelings during the war and also causes tension tends to linger and sometimes even builds up over the years. On the contrary, war can unite a community in a common goal. People in the same nation will often times bind together and help the nation. Strong feelings of love for your country and peers often stems from a war. This act of war often creates a bind for people who may not have had a common bond before the incident. Currently we can see this same type of thing happening in our community today. People who might not have banded together, have now united as one community.

Many things can bring communities together and yet there are many things that can tear them apart. Some factors effecting communities positively and negatively include language, racial communities, and war. All people are effected directly or indirectly by what happens inside or outside a specific community.

Essay On Social Issues

500 words essay on social issues.

Social Issues is an undesirable state which opposes society or a certain part of society. It refers to an unwanted situation that frequently results in problems and continues to harm society . Social issues can cause a lot of problems that can be beyond the control of just one person. Through an essay on social issues, we will learn why they are harmful and what types of social issues we face.

Drawbacks of Social Issues

Social issues have a lot of drawbacks that harms our society. They are situations that have an adverse and damaging result on our society. They arise when the public leaves nature or society from an ideal situation.

If you look closely, you will realize that almost all types of social issues have common origins. In the sense that they all are interconnected somehow. Meaning to say, if one solves the other one is also most likely to resolve.

Social issues have a massive lousy effect on our society and ultimately, it affects all of us. In order to solve some social issues, we need a common approach. No society is free from social issues, almost every one of them has some social issue or the other.

For instance, in India, you will find a lot of social issues which the country is facing. It ranges from the caste system to child labour and gender inequality to religious conflicts. Thus, we are going through a critical time where we all must come together to free our society from undesirable social evils.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Major Social Issues

There are a lot of social issues we are facing right now, some more prominent than the others. First of all, poverty is a worldwide issue. It gives birth to a lot of other social issues which we must try to get away with at the earliest.

Further, countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and more are facing the issue of the caste system since times unknown. It results in a lot of caste violence and inequality which takes the lives of many on a daily basis.

Moreover, child labour is another major social issue that damages the lives of young children. Similarly, illiteracy also ruins the lives of many by destroying their chances of a bright future.

In developing countries mostly, child marriage still exists and is responsible for ruining many lives. Similarly, dowry is a very serious and common social issue that almost all classes of people partake in.

Another prominent social issue is gender inequality which takes away many opportunities from deserving people. Domestic violence especially against women is a serious social issue we must all fight against.

Other social issues include starvation, child sex abuse, religious conflicts, child trafficking, terrorism , overpopulation, untouchability, communalism and many more. It is high time we end these social issues.

Conclusion of the Essay on Social Issues

A society can successfully end social issues if they become adamant. These social issues act as a barrier to the progress of society. Thus, we must all come together to fight against them and put them to an end for the greater good.

FAQ on Essay on Social Issues

Question 1: What is the meaning of social problem?

Answer 1: A social problem refers to any condition or behaviour which has a negative impact on a large number of people. It is normally recognized as a condition or behaviour that needs to be addressed.

Question 2: What are the effects of social issues?

Answer 2: Social issues affect our society adversely. Most importantly, it disturbs the harmony of society and gives rise to hostility and suspicion. Moreover, it creates large-scale social dissatisfaction, suffering and misery.

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Community Problem Solving Essay Example

• Pages: 15 (3875 words)
• Published: May 24, 2018
• Type: Case Study

Introduction This module introduces Community Problem Solving as a teaching and learning strategy. As such, it is the 'practical' application module that builds on the ideas for citizenship education developed in Module 7. It also draws on the ideas about experiential, enquiry and values education, Future Problem Solving and learning outside the classroom in other modules. Community Problem Solving provides students with an opportunity to practice the skills that are needed to participate in finding solutions to the local issues that concern them.

This helps to develop the important citizenship objectives of learning for a sustainable future and integrates skills - for both students and teachers - of using experiential and enquiry-based strategies. It also integrates skills in the planning of values clarification and values analysis with the possible solutions so students can take action to help achieve a sustainable fu

ture. Objectives To develop an understanding of Community Problem Solving, especially as it may be used in education for sustainable futures. To identify the skills students need to participate in Community Problem Solving.

To explore questions and issues that may be encountered when teaching through Community Problem Solving. To identify teaching and learning strategies that may be used as part of a Community Problem Solving project. Activities 1. Local concerns 2. What is Community Problem Solving? 3. Developing students' skills 4. Planning to use Community Problem Solving 5. Reflection References _____ (n. d. ) Active Citizenship Today: Field Guide for Teachers, Close Up Foundation, Alexandria VA, USA. Bardwell, L. , Monroe, M. and Tudor, M. 1994) Environmental Problem Solving: Theory, Practice and Possibilities in Environmental Education, North American Association for Environmental Education, Troy, Ohio. Bull, J. ,

Cromwell, M. , Cwikiel, W. , Di Chiro, G. , Guarina, J. , Rathje, R. , Stapp, W. , Wals, A. , and Youngquist, M. (1988) Education in Action: A Community Problem Solving Program for Schools, Thomson-Shore, Dexter, Michigan. Hungerford, H. et al. (1988) Investigating and Evaluating Environmental Issues and Actions: Skill Development Modules, Stripes Publishing Company, USA. Jensen, B.

B. and Schnack, K. (1997) The action competence approach in environmental education, Environmental Education Research, 3(2), pp. 162-178. OECD (1995) Environmental Education for the 21st Century, OECD, Paris. Stapp, W. B. , and Wals, A. E. J. (1994) An Action Research Approach to Environmental Problem Solving, in Bardwell, L. , Monroe, M. and Tudor, M. (1994) Environmental Problem Solving: Theory, Practice and Possibilities in Environmental Education, North American Association for Environmental Education, Troy, Ohio. Stapp, W. , Wals, A. and Stankorb, S. eds) (1996) Environmental Education for Empowerment, Kendall/Hunt, Dubuque. Wals, A. E. J. (1996) Back-alley sustainability and the role of environmental education, Local Environment, 1(3), pp. 299-316. Internet Sites Earth Force Youth Action Programme e-teen Youth Ventures On the Line - The Countries of The Greenwich Meridan Points of Light Youth Action Programme Credits This module was written for UNESCO by Bernard Cox, Margaret Calder and John Fien from material and activities originally written by Eureta Janse van Rensburg and Debbie Heck in Learning for a Sustainable Environment (UNESCO - ACEID).

Activity 1: Local concerns Begin by opening your learning journal for this activity. What would your community look like if it were on course to a sustainable future? Would there be: A clean and safe environment? A diverse and vibrant economy? Good housing for everyone?

People who respect and support each other? Celebrations of cultural, historical and natural heritage? Co-operation and power-sharing between citizens and government? Affordable health care for everyone? Good schools? These are all features of a healthy and sustainable community.

Community Problem Solving is a strategy for working step-by-step towards this goal. This module begins with an exploration of issues and problems in your own local community. Q1: List five issues or problems you are concerned about in your community. [In Module 1 you identified local examples of nine major concerns (Question 5) and investigated one in detail through the process of Strategic Questioning. It may be useful to review your ideas from these activities as a starting point when making your list. Q2: What skills or experience do you have that might be helpful in finding a solution to any of these problems? Q3: What are you currently doing to help address any of these problems? Review reports of 'success stories' of young people and their teachers working to solve local community problems: cleaning up graffiti, saving energy, a river clean-up, providing recreation for senior citizens, publishing a community environmental inventory, and so on. Activity 2: What is Community Problem Solving? Begin by opening your learning journal for this activity. A Case Study of Community Problem Solving

Read a case study about the Park Beach Coastcare Project. This is an account of the way a group of students in Australia helped restore a beach near their school. Analysing the case study will help clarify what is involved in Community Problem Solving. Q4: Answer the following questions about the case study: What do you feel about the circumstances and

events in the case study? What do you think were the learning outcomes for the student? In what ways are the teaching/learning strategies used in the case study different from strategies most often used in your school?

What skills did the teacher need to teach this way? What problems do you think the teachers in the case study might have faced when they included this activity as part of the curriculum? Community Problem Solving is a teaching and learning strategy that helps students learn to participate actively in addressing local community concerns, with a view to creating a more sustainable future. Steps in Community Problem Solving There are eight major steps for guiding students through the process of Community Problem Solving:

Taking action Selecting problems Investigating Planning actions Exploring community concerns Assessing and developing student skills Developing visions of a sustainable future Evaluating actions and changes All these steps are important but, no doubt, you noticed that the above list is not in a logical problem solving sequence. Re-arrange the steps into a more logical sequence. Adapting the Eight Steps to Local Circumstances The eight steps in Community Problem Solving do not have to be followed in a strict order.

For example, as students develop confidence in Community Problem Solving, the need to assess and develop their skills will diminish. And often, new issues for investigation will arise as you progress through the steps, requiring a recycling backwards and forwards through the steps. What is important is that the steps be used flexibly and be adapted to local circumstances, to your own students, and to your own approach to teaching. Q5: Review the case study from Modules 15

and 24 about a geography class in Nepal that worked in their home village to develop a local sustainable development plan.

Identify which of the eight steps were used and in what order. Q6: Use your understanding of the Park Beach and Nepal case studies to identify four distinctive features of Community Problem Solving as a teaching/learning strategy. Q7: Explain how you could use the Community Problem Solving approach to guide students through the study of a local issue. Review a teaching guide for student participation in solving local transport problems. Read about the Earth Force Community Action and Problem Solving Programme. Service Learning

Service learning - through which students volunteer to work on projects in their communities (not necessarily problem-solving ones) - has a long tradition in education in some countries. Examples of service learning projects include: volunteering to assist in a hospital, kindergarten or other community centre; working in a youth conservation project; and developing a community education and information campaign around a topical issue. Service learning is a common action that students and schools choose as a way of acting on - and achieving - the visions of a sustainable future that are developed during a Community Problem Solving project.

A recent evaluation of service learning revealed major impacts on students: Over 95% reported that they were satisfied with their community service experience and that the service they performed was helpful to the community and the individuals they served. Over 90% felt that all students should be encouraged to participate in community service. 87% believed that they learned a skill that will be useful in the future. 75% said that they learned more than in

a typical class. Approximately 40% reported that the service experience helped them think about and/or learn more about a future career or job.

The impacts on the students’ attitudes to citizenship were also quite significant. Students showed positive, statistically significant impacts on three measures of civic development: acceptance of cultural diversity; service leadership; and the overall measure of civic attitudes. The impacts on civic/social attitudes were most evident among the high school students in the study. Participants in high school service-learning programs showed significant impacts on service leadership and the overall civic attitudes scale and a marginally significant impact on attitudes towards diversity.

Middle school students, in contrast, showed some gains in the measures of civic attitudes, but none were statistically significant. The largest impact on civic attitudes was on the measure of service leadership – the most direct measure of student attitudes towards service itself. Here, the students reported that they felt that: they were aware of needs in their communities; they believed that they could make a difference; they knew how to design and implement a service project; and they were committed to service now and later in life.

These are all good indicators of a very clear and positive contribution to active citizenship for a sustainable future. Source: Summary Report: National Evaluation of Learn and Serve America School and Community-Based Programs, prepared for The Corporation for National Service by The Center for Human Resources, Brandeis University, USA, 1999. Park Beach Coastcare Project, Australia The beach next to Sorrell State School in Australia was not an attractive place. The dunes were becoming eroded and the noxious weed, African Boneseed, was threatening to smother and replace the

native vegetation.

People had left behind their rubbish and the public toilets were in a bad state of repair. The teachers and students of the school asked the local Surfboard Club for help and, together, they developed a Management Plan. The objectives of the Management Plan were to protect the sand dunes from erosion, remove weeds, and make the area safe and beautiful to visit. The actions recommended in their Plan included: Fencing off the dunes and constructing a walkway to the beach. Removing African boneseed and other weeds and replanting the area with local native plants. Building a viewing platform that includes access for people in wheel-chairs.

Beautifying the toilet area by painting murals on the water tanks. Planting shade trees around the carpark. Making a picnic and barbecue area. Providing more rubbish bins. Organising regular litter clean ups. Building a community notice board next to the car park. The students wrote letters and gave talks to local service clubs, such as Lions and Rotary, and to the local Sorrell Council. members of these groups combined to form the Park Beach Coastcare Group. They made applications to the government and received a grant for $5500 to implement their Management Plan.

In addition, the group organises regular community celebrations in the area for Clean Up Australia Day and Ocean Care Day. They have cleaned graffiti from the sandstone cliffs and are monitoring the effects of releasing African Boneseedeating beetles in the area. The co-ordinator of the Park Beach Coastcare Group said: The project offers a unique opportunity for the children at Sorrell School to learn about the local environment, the problems of environmental degradation and the care, patience

and commitment required over a long period to rehabilitate damaged land.

The project also offers the opportunity for the school to coordinate resources and community groups to achieve their aims. Management Plans were collated and discussed at school. The children drew up the Management Plan for the area. Source: K. Willing, Tasmanian Coastcare Co-ordinator, Australia. Activity 3: Developing students' skills Begin by opening your learning journal for this activity. Students use many skills when learning through Community Problem Solving. Four categories of skills are: Group process skills Information gathering skills Analysis and decision making skills Action and evaluation skills

Group process skills, for example: Taking different roles in a group and becoming a group leader when appropriate Listening to and comprehending ideas Expressing ideas clearly Considering and respecting others Providing constructive feedback to others Exploring group decision-making processes Monitoring 'on-task' behaviour of the group Monitoring the time allocated for tasks Information gathering skills, for example: Using the library, including print and electronic resources Designing data gathering strategies for the problem being investigated

Using scientific and social science techniques (eg. water quality testing, social survey) for investigation Identifying relevant agencies, organisations and members of the community Requesting information from sources by writing letters, making telephone inquiries, or using email Analysis and decision making skills, for example: Analysing data gathered using scientific and social science techniques Thinking critically and creatively about possible alternatives Considering the values of other people and their own Deciding on a course of action Justifying decisions

Action and evaluation skills, for example: Deciding on steps in an action plan Freely choosing to take actions Evaluating whether the changes that were the result of the actions, addressed the

problem Source: Adapted from Bull, J. et al (1988) Education in Action: A Community Problem Solving Program for Schools, Thomson-Shore, Dexter, Michigan, pp. 267269. Teaching Skills It takes a skillful teacher to teach skills to students. Think back to a recent lesson when you taught your students a new skill. Recall what you did first, how you proceeded and what your students did in each step of the lesson.

For example, you might begin by analysing a skill to identify its parts and demonstrate them to students. Q8: List some steps you usually follow in teaching a new skill. Compare your ideas with a sample list. Teaching a Skill A sequence of procedures for teaching a skill might include: Analyse the skill to identify its parts. Motivate the students so they realise they need to learn the new skill. Demonstrate the whole skill, with students watching. Do a second demonstration, step by step, and comment on each step as you work. At the end of each step, students should carry out the same activity as demonstrated.

Observe the students at work and offer individual coaching where possible. Provide the students with opportunities to use the skill so they can perfect it. Encourage students to judge their own performances. Activity 4: Planning to use Community Problem Solving Begin by opening your learning journal for this activity. Some of the problems that might occur when using Community Problem Solving include: Some students might not be used to teachers asking them to choose the topic (ie. the local problem) they want to study. Some students could be puzzled when the teacher sets a problem but does not tell them the

Some students lose their concentration when they are taken out of the classroom on fieldwork. Sometimes local problems of interest to students may be the cause of controversy in the community. Q9: Identify some teaching ideas that could prevent problems such as these. Selecting the Issue Selecting an issue that is practicable for students to investigate is a key aspect of planning for Community Problem Solving. The following criteria may help you - and your students - choose a possible project and location: The locations are readily accessible to students.

There is no serious risk to the safety of students at these places. The projects are within the range of ability of students. There is a genuine need in the community for this problem to be solved. Students believe the problem is significant to them. Q10: Rank these criteria in order of importance. It is important to bear these criteria for selecting problems in mind. However, experience indicates that students are most motivated when they work on problems of their own choosing. Q11: Identify suitable teaching and learning activities that could be used at each of the eight steps in Community Problem Solving. An example is given in your learning journal for each step. Activities explained in other modules could be adapted and modified for use in many of these steps. ] Download a set of booklets on how to teach for Community Problem Solving on issues such as: Monitoring local water quality. Developing a local bikeway plan. Activity 5: Reflection Begin by opening your learning journal for this activity. Completing the module: Look back through the activities and tasks to check that you have done

them all and to change any that you think you can improve now that you have come to the end of the module.

Q12: How useful are the guidelines for teaching through Community Problem Solving in this sample lesson plan? Why? Q13: Identify how easy or difficult it will be for you to do introduce each of the eight steps in Community Problem Solving in your teaching situation. Q14: After you have trailed using Community Problem Solving with a class, review the process using questions such as these. What aspects of the Community Problem Solving project were really successful? Was there anything that you forgot to plan? Did your students need more preparation before the fieldwork? In what area?

What changes will you make to this project before doing it with another class? Activity 1 - Local concerns Q1: List five problems you are concerned about in your community. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Q2: What skills or experience do you have that might be helpful in finding a solution to any of these problems? Q3: What are you currently doing to help address any of these problems? Activity 2 - What is Community Problem Solving? Q4: Answer the following questions about the case study. What do you feel about the circumstances and events in the case study? What do you think were the learning outcomes for the student?

Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future ? UNESCO 2001 In what ways are the teaching/learning strategies used in the case study different from strategies most often used in your school? What skills did the teacher need to teach this way? What problems do you think the teachers in

the case study might have faced when they included this activity as part of the curriculum? Q5: Identify which of the eight steps of Community Problem Solving that were used and in what order. Q6: Use your understanding of the Park Beach and Nepal case studies to identify four distinctive features of Community Problem Solving as a eaching/learning strategy. 1. 2. 3. 4. Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future ? UNESCO 2001 Q7: Answer the following questions to plan a Community Problem Solving project for students in one of the classes you teach. Exploring Community Problem Solving Name a problem in your community that you think students would be interested in solving. Selecting a problem Why is this important to your community? Do your students have the skills to be able to tackle this problem at the present time? Do you have time to undertake the entire Community Problem Solving process for this problem, or might a smaller problem be better to begin with?

Evaluating and developing student skills What skills do your students need to undertake Community Problem Solving? What kinds of guidance might you need to provide? Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future ? UNESCO 2001 Investigating What is the current status of this problem in the community? Are there any conflicts of interest among groups in the community over this problem? If so, what are they? How can decisions be made to resolve the issue? Developing visions What are students’ visions for the future in relation to this problem? What are the alternatives?

Which vision do they prefer and why? Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future ? UNESCO 2001 Planning actions

What changes will bring the situation closer to their visions of a sustainable future? What barriers must be overcome to allow these changes to take place? List the steps that must be taken to make the changes. This is the plan of action. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Others How can the plan of action be evaluated? Taking actions How will the planned actions solve the problem? What is the role of students in deciding on these actions? Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future ? UNESCO 2001

Evaluating actions and changes What actions were taken? What changes resulted? To what extent are these changes the same as the vision? How were barriers overcome? What was learnt from Community Problem Solving? Activity 3 - Developing students’ skills Q8: List the steps you usually follow in teaching a new skill. Activity 4 - Planning to use Community Problem Solving Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future ? UNESCO 2001 Q9: Identify some teaching ideas that could anticipate and prevent problems such as: Problem Some students might not be used to teachers asking them to choose the topic (i. e. he local problem) they want to study. Some students could be puzzled when the teacher sets a problem but does not tell them the answer. Some students lose their concentration when they are taken out of the classroom on fieldwork. Sometimes local problems of interest to students may be the cause of controversy in the community. (Can you anticipate any other problems? ) Teaching ideas Q10: Rank criteria for selecting an issue in order of importance. Rank 1 = most important 5 = least important The locations are

readily accessible to students. There is no serious risk to the safety of students at these places.

The projects are within the range of ability of students. There is a genuine need in the community for this problem to be solved. Students believe the problem is significant to them. Q11: Identify suitable teaching and learning activities that could be used at each of the 8 Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future ? UNESCO 2001 steps in Community Problem Solving. Activities explained in other modules could be adapted and modified for use in many of these steps. Steps 1. Exploring Community Problem Solving Teaching and Learning Activities Tell a story about how a community group solved a problem (Module 19). 2. Selecting a problem Strategic Questioning (Module 1). * 3. Evaluating and developing student skills Use a role play to develop student skills in values analysis (Module 20). * 4. Investigating Students work in pairs to investigate changes in the community and how various people feel about them (Modules 21, 24). * 5. Developing visions Use the ‘preferable’ and ‘probable’ futures exercise (Module 2) to help students develop visions about the future. * 6. Planning actions Use Future Problem Solving strategies to develop an action plan (Module 23). * 7.

Taking actions Class presents their Action Plan to the local mayor (Module 24). * 8. Evaluating actions and changes Invite a guest from the community to share how the changes have affected him or her. * Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future ? UNESCO 2001 Activity 5 - Reflection Q12: How useful do you find the guidelines for teaching through Community Problem Solving in this sample

lesson plan? Why? Q13: Identify how easy or difficult it will be for you to do introduce each of the eight steps in Community Problem Solving in your teaching situation.

Q14: After you have trialed using Community Problem Solving with a class, review the process using questions such as these. What aspects of the Community Problem Solving project were really successful? Was there anything that you forgot to plan? Did your students need more preparation before the fieldwork? In what area? What changes will you make to this project before doing it with another class? Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future ? UNESCO 2001 Other comments/observations? Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future ? UNESCO 2001

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A List of 339 Problem Solution Essay Topics & Questions

A problem solution essay is a type of persuasive essay. It’s a piece of writing that presents a particular problem and provides different options for solving it. It is commonly used for subject exams or IELTS writing tasks.

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In this article, we’ll take a look at how to write this type of essay. We will also provide ideas of good problem and solution essay topics to ease students’ writing process. But first: check out our custom writing service in case you need academic assistance!

• 🔝 Top 10 Topics

✅ How to Write a Problem Solution Essay

⭐ top 10 problem and solution essay topics for 2024.

• 🧑🤝🧑 Topics about Society
• 🏫 Topics on Education
• 💵 Business & Finance Topics
• 🍎 Health & Psychology Topics
• 🌎 Environment Topics
• 🐶 Topics about Animals
• 🔬 Science & Technology Topics
• 🏠 Local Problem Solution Topics
• 😄 Funny & Easy Topics
• 🤔 Other Problem Solution Topics

🔍 References

🔝 top 10 problem solution essay topics.

• The best way to improve logistics
• How to prevent drunk driving
• How can we prevent stroke?
• Ways to promote independent music
• How to prevent teen pregnancy
• Can schools help with childhood obesity?
• Ways to teach children financial literacy
• What can we do to stop human trafficking?
• Can teaching self-defense reduce violence?
• Building dams to fight the flooding problem

When starting to write an essay, think about a problem in the community that needs to be resolved. Sometimes, you will get a ready topic, like at an IELTS exam.

The topics might vary, but the outline of an essay will remain the same. First, write a list of actions that can help to solve the problem. Then, pick the three that you like best and evaluate them.

Once you get your solutions, start writing.

Any essay, whether it’s for high school or college, should be well-structured. Problem solution essays consist of two paragraphs: problem description and solution . The first section is generally divided into several parts:

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• Introduction. Provide the definition of the problem, some general background, and thesis statement with possible solutions.
• Situation. Give clear examples on the issue so that readers can understand it better.
• Problem. Describe the issue and its effect on people.

In the solution section, you need to identify several potential solutions and evaluate their effectiveness. It should include:

• Two or more possible solutions .
• Evaluation and critical assessment of the solutions.
• Conclusion with a summary of the main points of the text.

Now, you have a general idea about the writing process. To help facilitate your writing, take a look at the topic ideas below.

• Is group therapy effective against BPD?
• Can smart fridges prevent binge eating?
• Can having remote workers decrease costs?
• Sustainable homes as a way to save energy
• How nature reserves prevent wildlife extinction
• Reducing education costs with online education
• Is gun control a way to stop mass shootings?
• Can class discussions help fight youth violence?
• One-child policy as a way to stop overpopulation
• Is car sharing effective for decreasing CO2 emissions?

🧑🤝🧑 Problem and Solution Topics about Society

Social issues are problems of every level that influence the members of our society. They may refer to various factors, such as racial inequality or bullying, that affect the well-being of people or the community as a whole. Here are some problem-solving topics that will help you start writing.

• A part of the world’s population lives in conditions that don’t meet their basic needs. What are the ways to alleviate or prevent poverty ?
• There were several instances when social media websites were accused of gathering people’s private information . What are the ways to ensure privacy in the digital age?
• A vast number of girls get pregnant and give birth before the age of 20. What are some ways to reduce the teenage pregnancy rate in your country?
• Body shaming is one of the biggest problems of today’s society. What are the ways to solve this issue?
• Despite an increase in public awareness about the adverse effects of racism , the issue persists. How can we eliminate it?
• Unemployment negatively affects the living conditions of many people. It also facilitates such issues as domestic violence and depression. How can unemployment rates be improved in your country?

• Education is a fundamental human right, yet many people in some developing countries remain illiterate. How can we solve this issue?
• Habits such as smoking and overeating negatively affect people’s health. How can we better promote healthy lifestyles ?
• Victims of domestic violence often develop physical disabilities, chronic health problems, and stress. In what ways can we reduce domestic violence in our society?
• Inequality in payment, sexual harassment, and difficulty getting promoted are some of the issues women face at workplaces. What can our society do to increase equality ?
• Celebrities often appear to look flawless, which affects people’s body image . How can we promote healthier beauty standards ?
• When children observe violent behaviors , they become more aggressive. In what ways can we prevent them from witnessing violence?
• Health care is a major social issue, as many people don’t have access to high-quality services. How can we improve this situation?
• The ownership of guns increases the chances of unintentional shootings, which can result in casualties. How can gun control policies be improved?
• The consumption of illegal drugs often leads to overdosing. In what ways can people be persuaded not to do drugs?
• Drunk driving is the leading cause of vehicle accidents. What is the best way to restrict people from doing it?
• Human trafficking is a grave problem that affects countries all over the world. How can it be prevented?
• Women often report being sexually assaulted while in college. What can we do to reduce this problem?
• Homeless people are more likely to engage in abuse or violent behavior. What can be done to solve the issue?
• Parental divorce is a traumatic experience for a child. How can its adverse effects be eliminated?

🏫 Problem Solution Essay Topics on Education

The educational system is riddled with issues. You can think of numerous drawbacks that need to be addressed to make education better. Below are several examples of problem solution essay topics that will inspire you to write.

• In the pandemic environment, many students had to resort to online education , often with questionable quality. What are the ways to make e-learning effective?
• Many schools fail to provide adequate sex education programs. How can we reduce the stigma around this topic?
• Numerous students get bad grades due to reasons other than laziness. How can we help struggling learners?
• For many students, a strict schedule remains a big issue. Should students be offered the possibility of flexibility?
• Many private and public schools require a strict uniform . Are there ways to express one’s individuality without violating the dress code?
• A majority of students in schools and colleges admit to cheating . What are the ways to put an end to this behavior?
• Technology usage in education can be beneficial, as it might improve engagement and individual learning. How can schools become more adaptable to digitalization?
• Learning a foreign language can help students develop additional mental abilities. Should it be mandatory in all schools?
• Students often find themselves delaying or postponing tasks. It leads to lower grades and health issues, such as headaches or insomnia . How can we reduce the levels of student procrastination ?
• Obesity is associated with the leading causes of death in the US. Should the educational system include more physical education classes to build a fitter community?
• Students with learning disorders may have a feeling of frustration when mastering a subject. In what ways can colleges adapt to their needs?
• There are many subjects in school, and not all of them are equally useful for everyone. How can we make sure that students are learning what is best for them?
• Schools often put more funding into science, mathematics, and humanities. Should they also fund physical education (PE)?
• Gifted education allows talented students to learn more and move ahead at their pace. At the same time, it creates inequality. How can these programs be improved?
• Disruptive children usually prevent themselves and other students in class from working. What are the ways to deal with these students to make the work effective?
• The core curriculum for all schools allows all children to be taught all subjects but can be a bit strict. Should all schools have the same curriculum?
• Students are often provided with college preparation classes that don’t prepare them for work. Should schools focus more on getting students job-ready?
• Bullying and violence are the major issues at school that affect mental and physical health. What can teachers do to prevent these behaviors at school?
• The majority of students don’t perform equally well in all subjects. Instead, they excel in certain ones and fail in others. Should learners be allowed to choose their courses?
• Printed books are not easy to update, as new editions are often costly. Should schools move to digital textbooks ?

💵 Business & Finance Problem Solutions Topics

A significant number of issues can arise while managing a business or creating a startup. It can be related to anything from cybersecurity to marketing strategies. If you are into entrepreneurship, consider choosing a problem solutions topic from the list below.

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• Raising minimum wages might result in the loss of jobs. What are the alternatives?
• Job dissatisfaction often stems from issues related to wages, career progression, and leadership approach. How can we increase job satisfaction?
• The high unemployment rate brings an economic loss to the government, as well as causes individual sufferings. What are the possible methods to reduce it?

• A large number of startups fail in the first year of functioning. How can governments ensure their sustainability?
• Low employee productivity can create serious setbacks for businesses. What are the ways to increase productivity?
• Bad customer service damages the company’s reputation and leads to the loss of clients. What are the steps to fix this issue?
• The lack of teamwork might result in efficiency and productivity drop. How can we improve team cooperation in the company?
• Inflation negatively affects people with fixed wages and large amounts of cash savings. How can it be avoided?
• Carrying a student loan debt and failure to repay one may result in serious financial troubles. How can we solve the problems associated with student credit?
• The lack of performance monitoring might lead to unintended behaviors within the organization. How can we persuade people to start using a set of performance indicators?
• A significantly high number of people live from payday to payday, failing to accumulate savings. What is the best way to save money monthly?
• Bad investments rarely bring any profit. How can people avoid poor investments?
• Financial crisis can lead to mass job losses and businesses shutting down. How can we overcome recessions effectively?
• The biggest challenge for small businesses during a pandemic is staying open and making a profit. How can governments support small businesses in case of another epidemic?
• Poor marketing might result in financial problems and low customer volumes. How can you improve an average marketing strategy ?
• Imagine a company whose cash flow is adequate, yet there aren’t enough financial resources for it to grow. What are the ways to manage a strapped budget?
• Employee turnover has immediate consequences for a company. How can we reduce it?
• Business competition can harm small businesses through price factors and labor costs. How can they handle the competition?
• Poor workflow directly affects the revenue of the company. How can companies manage it effectively?
• Unsatisfied customers might spread the word about the ineffectiveness of the company. How can organizations increase customer satisfaction ?

🍎 Health & Psychology Problem Solving Topics

Problems related to health and mental well-being are common in the modern world. It’s not surprising, considering the influence of consumerist culture and environmental factors. You can address any issue you’re particularly concerned about. The following problem solution essay topics will give you an idea of where to start.

• There are several reasons for poor mental health among older people in the US. What are the ways to improve it?
• Substance addiction affects individuals because of the stigma associated with it. In what ways can we help people in recovery?
• A significant number of people suffer from eating disorders , which affects their mental and physical states. How can society prevent it?
• Depression is a common disorder among teenagers. How can teachers and parents help them manage it?
• Birth order can impact the way parents treat their children and children’s behavior. Can we, as a society, raise more awareness about the effects of birth order ?
• Post-traumatic stress disorder is experienced by people who suffered from trauma. How can society help those who have it?
• Peer pressure forces people to do things that they might not want to do. How can we reduce its influence?
• Romantic relationships often fail due to misunderstandings. How do we raise awareness about the possible difference in love styles?
• Schizophrenia is a complicated mental illness that has a severe impact on one’s life. How can society help people seek treatment for this disorder?
• Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) might isolate themselves from peers. How can teachers and parents help kids with social skills impairments?
• Alzheimer’s disease affects intellectual and physical abilities, memory, and personality. How can people prevent its development?
• Somatization disorder is a tendency to feel psychological pain in the form of physical. What is the best treatment for its symptoms?
• Prolonged use of defense mechanisms makes people feel as if they aren’t in control of their own emotions. How can we help people overcome these feelings?
• A significant percentage of children have ADHD . How can we help children with this disorder?
• Nowadays, many people have sleep disorders. How can insomnia be prevented?
• The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 caused many children to feel lonely and detached. What can parents do to help their kids in case of another pandemic?
• Suicide is a growing problem among people of all ages. What can we do to prevent it?
• Constant stress negatively affects sleep quality. What techniques can help improve it?
• It’s natural for parents to help their children as much as possible. But because of this, they often put them under too much pressure. How can we help parents find the right balance?
• Constant stress increases the chances of stroke . What are the ways to reduce the risk?

🌎 Problem Solving Topic Ideas about Environment

Today’s most significant environmental issue is climate change, but it’s not the only one. There are more global problems that need to be resolved. If you’re concerned about the environment, here are some problem-cause-solution topics for you.

• Drinking water has become an uncommon thing in many countries due to pollution. What can people do to help with this problem?
• Climate change has numerous adverse effects, such as shifting seasons and new sicknesses. How can this issue be effectively addressed?
• Vehicles release a significant amount of greenhouse gases , which contributes to global warming. Should there be a rule about reducing car usage to facilitate the solution to the environmental problem?
• Woodlands produce oxygen and help regulate the temperature. Unfortunately, a vast amount of wooded areas is lost due to deforestation . What are the possible ways to solve this problem?
• Marine life is suffering because of the amount of carbon in the water. How can people protect it?
• Air pollution poses a serious danger to people’s health . How can we reduce its adverse effects?
• Overpopulation results in a deficiency of assets like water, food, and fuel. How can we control it?
• Ozone depletion leads to an increase in the amount of ultraviolet. It results in cancer and other skin diseases. How can we solve this problem?
• Due to overpopulation , people use natural resources faster than nature can replenish them. How can we prevent its depletion?
• Leftover food is a massive problem, as it wastes water and farmland. How can we reduce it?
• Pesticides used to grow fruits and vegetables might cause health problems. How can we promote organic farming ?

• Polluted soil contains chemicals dangerous to humans, animals, and plants. Is there something that can help to avoid soil pollution ?
• Using bicycles reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. How can governments promote the usage of bicycles to reduce air pollution ?
• Natural disasters result from Earth’s processes and negatively affect people’s lives. What can we do to prepare for natural hazards?
• Fluorinated gases used in refrigerators and hair sprays significantly contribute to climate change. How can we minimize their impact on the environment?
• Oil spills harm wildlife and marine life, as well as contribute to climate change. How can major companies prevent that from happening?
• Marine life is drowning in plastic, which creates major environmental issues. How can we stop plastic pollution in the ocean?
• The rapid loss of biodiversity threatens our health and economic stability. What can we, as consumers, do to solve this issue?
• A significant amount of money is spent on cleaning garbage. Still, it’s not enough to get rid of it completely. What are the solutions to the problem of littering ?
• Noise pollution creates discomfort and lowers the quality of people’s lives. What are the practical ways to reduce it?

🐶 Problem Solution Essay Topics about Animals

Animals have existed on our planet way before the emergence of humans. As time went by, many species vanished or became endangered due to people’s activities. Factory farms, fur industry, poaching— all of these issues require a solution. If you’re passionate about this topic, try exploring one of the following prompts.

• Circus animals are often violently forced to jump through rings of fire, ride bicycles, and do other activities. How can we stop the use of wild animals in circuses?
• Experiments on animals lead to reduced quality of their life and are often ineffective. How can we help stop this practice?
• Hunting causes pain and suffering to animals and disrupts the patterns created in the animal communities, such as wolf packs. How can people reduce hunting?
• The animals in zoos are deprived of natural habitat and are forced to be near people. How can we make zoos as comfortable as possible for them?
• The fur industry takes millions of animals’ lives away. How can people stop it?
• One of the issues animal shelters face is the lack of public awareness. What are the strategies to improve their work?
• Many animals live in abusive environments, where they’re neglected or physically hurt. What are the solutions to this problem?
• Dog Hunters Association argues for the right to use dogs in hunting. How can we change their attitude towards animals?
• Dogs from puppy mills are often poorly treated and suffer from a variety of diseases. How can this practice be stopped?
• Due to human activities, many animals are on the brink of extinction. How can we protect endangered species ?
• Dog meat is still used for human consumption in some parts of Asia. What are the ways to stop the inhumane trade?
• Some animal species are sold, either alive or dead, to various countries. What are the ways to stop the wildlife trade and keep animals safe in their natural environment?
• One of the primary reasons for animal extinction is poaching . What are the solutions to this issue?
• After adopting animals, some people decide that they no longer want them and send them to shelters. How can we prevent this from happening?
• Killing horses for meat is inhumane, and horse meat consumption is dangerous. How can we stop these practices?
• With more forests being cleared for farming and building, wild animals lose their natural habitats. How can people make safer environments for them?
• Ring fighting leaves animals with severe wounds that might lead to death. What can we do to stop it?
• Some countries continue to kill whales for commercial purposes, which threatens their existence. How can we stop whaling?
• The continuation of the ivory trade results in thousands of elephants being killed annually. What actions should be taken to stop it?
• Factory farms work to maximize profit, which is why animals are kept in inhumane conditions. What are the ways to reduce this cruelty?

🔬 Science & Technology Problem Solutions Topics

Scientific and technological processes are complicated and riddled with issues. Advances in these fields increase as well as worsen the quality of human life. In case you’re interested in science or technology, have a look at these problem solution essay topics.

• With the widespread use of technology, students can find everything online, which affects their critical thinking . What are the most effective ways to preserve this ability?
• There’s a price we have to pay for living in a digital age . It includes the loss of online data privacy. What is the best way to maintain it?
• To run research, scientists need large amounts of money, which often becomes an issue. How can they get more funding?
• A significant percentage of research papers contain wrong results due to poor study design . What is the best way to improve it?
• Scientists rarely want to replicate existing research. The results might turn out insignificant, and some studies are too hard to replicate. How can scientists be encouraged to do it nevertheless?
• Peer review is meant to prevent poor-quality works from being published. Yet, it doesn’t always work. How can the peer review system be fixed?
• Often, not everyone can access a published study due to journals being expensive. How can we make knowledge more accessible?
• Many people are unaware of scientific research in crucial areas such as nutrition . What is the best way to communicate scientific facts to a larger population?
• Cyber attacks are a significant threat to many businesses, as they involve the theft of large amounts of information. What are the ways to prevent them from happening?
• Artificial intelligence implementation creates new challenges, such as the risk of unemployment. How can we solve emerging technological problems?
• Technological advances allowed some countries to transition to cashless societies . While it has many advantages, it also creates some security concerns. What is the best solution for these issues?
• With technology advancing at a quicker pace, it is harder to find talented personnel to work with it. How can you help the employees to adapt to new technologies?
• While many researchers have ideas for studies, only a few get financial support for them. How can the government support scientists more effectively?

• Mobile apps, social media, and games distract people from the real world. How can we stop smartphone addiction ?
• Many graduating Ph.D. students have limited training for jobs outside of academic research. What can universities do to change the situation for the better?
• Wearable computers, such as Apple Watch , have become very convenient. Yet, they create additional privacy and security issues. How can we overcome the challenges of body-borne computers?
• Cyberbullying victims might experience psychological issues, such as depression, anxiety, and social exclusion. What is the best way to prevent it?
• Environmental issues, such as air and water pollution , negatively affect the quality of life. How can technology help us save the environment?
• Scientists are often obligated to publish research only with statistically significant results. How can bias towards certain studies be eliminated?
• The constant stress and underpayment cause talented people to quit their careers in science. How can they be encouraged to continue working in their field?

🏠 Local Problem Solution Essay Topics

Another excellent idea for your essay is to write about the problems in your community. Think about the issues that need to be resolved, and start your writing. These topics will facilitate your creativity.

Get an originally-written paper according to your instructions!

• A significant number of people view affordability of healthcare as a pressing problem, as it is quite expensive. How can healthcare costs be reduced in your community?
• Children may be exposed to hazardous labor, which can harm their health. What can be done to stop child labor in your country?
• Youth violence increases the possibility of future behavior and mental health problems. How can people stop this type of violent behavior in your community?
• The rise in rent prices makes housing hard to afford. How can housing in your country be improved?
• People who leave school or college often feel unprepared for work. This makes them feel anxious about getting a job. How can school leavers in your country be helped to get employed?
• When they get older, many young adults struggle to manage their finances. What is the best way to improve financial literacy in your community?
• A good internet connection has become a necessity for many people. This also made access to high-speed internet a major issue. How can you solve this problem in your local community?
• Drug addiction is a public health problem that affects many people, especially youth. What are the solutions to the drug abuse problem in your country?
• Traffic congestion causes environmental issues, as well as vehicle breakdowns. What is the best way to stop this in your country?
• Poverty leads to a lack of education, malnutrition, social exclusion, and limited access to other essential services. How can this problem be solved in your country?
• Crime can cause short-term problems, like an injury , and long-term ones, such as depression or PTSD . How can illegal behavior be reduced in your community?
• After graduating from college, many students face difficulties in finding a job. How can educational institutions in your country help graduates get employed?
• Public transportation can be frustrating with its inflexibility and delays. How can it be improved in your country?
• Lack of car parking areas is a common problem in urban areas. How can people solve this issue in your city?
• Junk food advertisements target children, which later leads to an increase in childhood obesity. How can we protect young people in your country from being affected by these advertisements?
• Hate crime affects the security of individuals and societies as a whole. How can such crimes be prevented in your community?
• Corruption is a global issue that negatively affects the economic and political systems of the country. What are the measures to resolve this issue in your state?
• Low fertility rates reduce the population size of a country. If your country has low birth rates, how can it be improved?
• Media propaganda has the potential of promoting violent behavior and reducing trust in the government. How should this problem be dealt with in your country?
• The number of acts of domestic violence against women, men, and children continues to grow drastically in many societies. How should these cases be handled in your country?

😄 Funny & Easy Problem Solution Essay Topics

Problems are not always serious and yet require a solution. Whether it’s a choice of cereal or a friend zone, it’s an issue that has to be dealt with. Take a look at the funny problem solution essay topics list, and choose the one you like the most.

• We often buy items that we never use afterward. How can we prevent ourselves from buying unnecessary stuff ?
• Your favorite soccer team keeps losing, and it’s affecting your mood. What’s the best way to cope with this continuous disappointment?
• You’ve invented a cool, new nickname for yourself. How do you get people to use it?
• You love playing League of Legends with your friend. They’re the worst support, but they insist on having this role. What should you do about it?
• Santa Claus is a beloved figure for many children. But they can’t believe in him forever. How should parents tell their kids that Santa isn’t real?
• Water is crucial to human survival. Still, some people don’t like its bland taste. How can you stay hydrated without resorting to unhealthy, sugary drinks?
• Happiness matters, as it makes people feel at ease. What can you do to make your community happier?
• Your partner loves jazz while you prefer death metal. How do you overcome this musical discrepancy?

• A sturdy case can ruin the appearance even of the most beautiful phone. How can one compromise effectively on this issue?
• House parties are fun, but your neighbors probably disagree. How can you throw a noisy party without upsetting those who live close by?
• It’s hard to keep up the spark in long-distance relationships. Conversations via Zoom quickly get boring. What are fun things a couple can do together on the internet?
• Many people believe that legalizing marijuana will reduce its consumption levels and solve social and economic issues. What are the other solutions to cannabis use?
• Taking a perfect selfie requires much patience. How can you make creating a fantastic picture of yourself easier?
• Pizza is great, but it’s not particularly healthy. How can you upgrade your favorite junk food to make it more nourishing?
• Studies have shown that growing houseplants is good for the mood. But what do you do if you simply don’t have a green thumb?
• Exercising is important, but it’s not fun for everyone. What can unathletic people do to stay fit without suffering?
• Being the funny one among friends often prevents people from taking you seriously. What can change people’s attitude towards you?
• Some people face the issue of “having a lot of clothes, but nothing to wear.” How can we fix this problem?
• Your friends want to go on a trip soon, but you’re broke. What are the best strategies for students to save $100 in four weeks?

🤔 Other Problem Solution Essay Topics

• What can we do about the problem of smoking in teenagers?
• Obesity as a global problem of modern society
• Reading problems and how to help students with reading disabilities
• The solutions to environmental effects of e-waste
• Potential solutions to noise pollution
• The migration issue and how to solve it
• The discussion and solution of COVID-19 ethical dilemma
• The problem of lack of parking in big cities and how to help it
• Nursing shortage as a national healthcare issue
• Agriculture in Honduras: existing challenges and possible solutions
• The issue of patient safety
• The problem of safety and efficiency amidst staff deficiency
• The problem of substance abuse and mental health issues within the homeless African American community
• The issue of medically assisted suicide
• The problem of obesity in India
• Medicare challenges and issues facing America
• The problem of institutional racism: effects and possible solutions
• Contemporary issues in health care delivery
• Solution of every-day problems: scientific method
• The issue of genetically modified crops
• Librarian management consultancy: challenges and solutions
• The software patent issues in China
• The solution to compassion fatigue and related issues in nursing
• Is e-cigarettes smoking a solution?
• Problems in a contemporary health environment and how to overcome them
• American government contemporary issues
• Can obesity problem be solved by proper nutrition and exercise?
• Diversity and cross-cultural issues in the global workplace
• Ethical issues and dilemmas in business
• Finding solutions for ethical dilemma
• Translating Emirati proverbs: problems and solutions
• How to solve traffic congestion in my school district
• The Rock Blocks company’s recruiting issues and solutions
• Staffing problem solution: HR metrics and workforce analytics
• Solving the health problems of the United States
• Possible solutions to health disparities
• Problems of sitting for long and their solutions
• Will banning plastic bags not solve pollution problem?
• Problem of predicting fluid responsiveness and its solution
• Escalating drug prices: the ways to avoid the problem
• The best way to address obesity in the United States
• Solution to the world poverty problem
• Gun violence: the ways to overcome the issue
• Design solutions for improving website quality and effectiveness
• Is simplification the best way to express ideas?
• Fairtrade: better solution to underdevelopment
• The problem of drug addiction in America and the solutions to it
• Can charging children as adults solve juvenile criminal problems?
• Stress in law: reasons and solutions
• The ways to solve the increasing incidence of criminals reverting
• Communication solutions for atmospheric scientist
• Are financial rewards the best way to increase work motivation?
• The environmental effects of the deforestation problem and how to solve it
• Recycling: finding the solution
• The use of the Internet to solve crimes
• The solution to social inequality and discrimination
• Encryption as a corporate security technological solution
• Principal threats to a building efficiency research and ways to overcome them
• Lack of social tolerance as the cause of discriminatory behavior problem and its solutions
• Environmental problems and their potential solutions
• Why technostress is harmful to psychological well-being and ways to reduce it
• Infant’s health: growth problems and solutions
• Community policing: the alternative solution to youth crime
• Strategies to overcome the organization’s problem due to community losses
• Metropolitan police service: identity management solution
• The problem of sexual harassment in the army and the ways to eliminate it
• Reasons of anti-Asian crimes and ways to deal with the problem
• Green logistics: implementation issues and solutions
• Technological solutions for effective communication
• Ways to defend against cyber terrorism
• Workplace conflict problem and its solutions
• Doha negotiations: possible solutions and outcomes
• Handling difficult conversations and ways to avoid conflict escalation
• Healthcare in Canada: problems and solutions
• Problem of verbal orders in medicine and how to overcome it
• Law contracts and ways to break the contract
• Cinemark USA, Inc.: problems and solutions
• Air pollution solutions: how to improve air quality
• The problem of homelessness in Los Angeles and the ways to reduce it
• Jamaica’s economy: problems and solutions
• Solutions to poverty in urban areas
• Australian economy: economic problems and ways of its solving
• Decrease the disparity between rich and poor solution
• Lebanon’s environmental problems and solutions
• Ways of treating obesity in older patients
• The global water crisis: issues and the ways to avoid them
• The Bauer school’s parking problem and solution
• Ways of reducing human trafficking of children
• Heartland payment system data breach problem solution
• Immigration policy in US. problem and how to solve it
• The ways to overcome the investment problem
• The problem of dysfunctional companies and its solution
• Du Bois vs. Washington: racist problem solution
• Fad diets’ impact on human health: problem solution
• Environmental challenges for NAFTA and how to solve them
• Three solutions to the problem of pollution externalities
• Buying things to solve personal problems
• Remington Peckinpah Davis Inc.’s problem solution
• Problem solution: best snacks INC.
• Solutions to the problem of steroids in sports and athletics
• Problem solution: global communications
• The problem of global warming and ways of its solution
• Cyber-bullying and ways to solve the problem
• Losses of personal data: problem and solution
• Obamacare: the solution to the healthcare problem
• The problem of Palestinian-Israeli conflict and viable solution
• The problem of coral reef depletion and how to address it
• Social security long-term solvency problems
• Economic crisis: bailout plan as solution
• The problem of anterior spacing in dentistry female patients and possible solutions
• Rising sea levels: how to reduce the global concern
• Organ trafficking problem and policy solution
• Cultural issues and their solutions in project management
• Transforming the Texas plant: possible solutions to the problems
• Nursing understaffing and evidence-based solution
• Critical thinking to solve hard problems
• Healthcare disparities and the ways to overcome them
• Pressure injury prevention: evidence-based solution
• Nursing stress solutions: benefits and support
• The problem of violence in nursing and its solutions
• What is the best way to stimulate economic growth?
• Decision making process in management: problem solving
• Pressure ulcers issue and defense of solution
• Land pollution and ways to minimize pollution in the US
• Vancouver’s housing crisis and solution
• The problem of stress and solutions for working students
• Seven ways to find help in starting a business
• Courtelaney Pass police department: potential problem solutions
• The problem of plagiarism, its reasons and solutions
• Ways of managing conflict
• Political corruption and how to address it
• Low wages and inequality problem and its solutions in the USA
• Child abuse and ways for its elimination
• The problem of infant mortality issue in India: possible solutions
• Domestic violence problem and the ways to overcome them
• Ways of avoiding cross-cultural miscommunication
• Risk incidence solution to the problem of substance use disorder
• Is assisted suicide a humane solution?
• Successful ways of preventing crime by Blundell
• Iron seeding oceans: global warming solution

Thank you for reading this article! Hopefully, these topics will help you write your problem-solution essay. Also, don’t forget to send this article to your friends, who might find it useful!

Further reading:

• 182 Free Ideas for Argumentative or Persuasive Essay Topics
• 200 Creative Topics for Opinion Essays
• 180 Excellent Evaluation Essay Topics
• 140 Classification Essay Topics and Ideas
• 150+ Excellent Narrative Essay Topics
• 260 Good Descriptive Essay Topics and Writing Tips
• 135 Creative Definition Essay Topics and Writing Tips
• Prewriting for Problem Solution Essays: Thoughtful Learning
• Structuring Your Essay: Solent University
• Analyzing Community Problems and Solutions: The University of Kansas
• 10 Major Challenges Facing Public Schools: Public School Review
• Major Issues in Education: 20 Hot Topics: Trade Schools
• The 10 Biggest Challenges Businesses Face Today (and Need Consultants for): Hiscox UK
• How to Overcome Financial Stress and Improve Finances: Bank of America
• The Most Important Health Problems (and Why They Matter): Harvard
• 5 Health Problems You’re Actually Not Too Young For: John Hopkins Medicine
• 10 Health Problems Related to Stress that You Can Actually Fix: WebMD
• Top 25 Environmental Concerns: Conserve Energy Future
• All Our Fights: The Humane Society of the United States
• The 7 Biggest Problems Facing Science, According to 270 Scientists: Vox
• Problems that Face Urban, Suburban, and Rural Communities in America: Pew Research Center
• 14 Major Tech Issues & What Can Solve Them: Built In
• Five of the World′s Biggest Environmental Problems: DW.com
• Top 10 Most Common Health Issues: University of Rochester
• Against the Environment. Problems in Society/Nature Relations: Frontiers
• Business Financing Problems: Chron.com
• Social Issues and Community Interactions: The National Academies Press
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How Pew Research Center will report on generations moving forward

Journalists, researchers and the public often look at society through the lens of generation, using terms like Millennial or Gen Z to describe groups of similarly aged people. This approach can help readers see themselves in the data and assess where we are and where we’re headed as a country.

Pew Research Center has been at the forefront of generational research over the years, telling the story of Millennials as they came of age politically and as they moved more firmly into adult life . In recent years, we’ve also been eager to learn about Gen Z as the leading edge of this generation moves into adulthood.

But generational research has become a crowded arena. The field has been flooded with content that’s often sold as research but is more like clickbait or marketing mythology. There’s also been a growing chorus of criticism about generational research and generational labels in particular.

Recently, as we were preparing to embark on a major research project related to Gen Z, we decided to take a step back and consider how we can study generations in a way that aligns with our values of accuracy, rigor and providing a foundation of facts that enriches the public dialogue.

A typical generation spans 15 to 18 years. As many critics of generational research point out, there is great diversity of thought, experience and behavior within generations.

We set out on a yearlong process of assessing the landscape of generational research. We spoke with experts from outside Pew Research Center, including those who have been publicly critical of our generational analysis, to get their take on the pros and cons of this type of work. We invested in methodological testing to determine whether we could compare findings from our earlier telephone surveys to the online ones we’re conducting now. And we experimented with higher-level statistical analyses that would allow us to isolate the effect of generation.

What emerged from this process was a set of clear guidelines that will help frame our approach going forward. Many of these are principles we’ve always adhered to , but others will require us to change the way we’ve been doing things in recent years.

Here’s a short overview of how we’ll approach generational research in the future:

We’ll only do generational analysis when we have historical data that allows us to compare generations at similar stages of life. When comparing generations, it’s crucial to control for age. In other words, researchers need to look at each generation or age cohort at a similar point in the life cycle. (“Age cohort” is a fancy way of referring to a group of people who were born around the same time.)

When doing this kind of research, the question isn’t whether young adults today are different from middle-aged or older adults today. The question is whether young adults today are different from young adults at some specific point in the past.

To answer this question, it’s necessary to have data that’s been collected over a considerable amount of time – think decades. Standard surveys don’t allow for this type of analysis. We can look at differences across age groups, but we can’t compare age groups over time.

Another complication is that the surveys we conducted 20 or 30 years ago aren’t usually comparable enough to the surveys we’re doing today. Our earlier surveys were done over the phone, and we’ve since transitioned to our nationally representative online survey panel , the American Trends Panel . Our internal testing showed that on many topics, respondents answer questions differently depending on the way they’re being interviewed. So we can’t use most of our surveys from the late 1980s and early 2000s to compare Gen Z with Millennials and Gen Xers at a similar stage of life.

This means that most generational analysis we do will use datasets that have employed similar methodologies over a long period of time, such as surveys from the U.S. Census Bureau. A good example is our 2020 report on Millennial families , which used census data going back to the late 1960s. The report showed that Millennials are marrying and forming families at a much different pace than the generations that came before them.

Even when we have historical data, we will attempt to control for other factors beyond age in making generational comparisons. If we accept that there are real differences across generations, we’re basically saying that people who were born around the same time share certain attitudes or beliefs – and that their views have been influenced by external forces that uniquely shaped them during their formative years. Those forces may have been social changes, economic circumstances, technological advances or political movements.

When we see that younger adults have different views than their older counterparts, it may be driven by their demographic traits rather than the fact that they belong to a particular generation.

The tricky part is isolating those forces from events or circumstances that have affected all age groups, not just one generation. These are often called “period effects.” An example of a period effect is the Watergate scandal, which drove down trust in government among all age groups. Differences in trust across age groups in the wake of Watergate shouldn’t be attributed to the outsize impact that event had on one age group or another, because the change occurred across the board.

Changing demographics also may play a role in patterns that might at first seem like generational differences. We know that the United States has become more racially and ethnically diverse in recent decades, and that race and ethnicity are linked with certain key social and political views. When we see that younger adults have different views than their older counterparts, it may be driven by their demographic traits rather than the fact that they belong to a particular generation.

Controlling for these factors can involve complicated statistical analysis that helps determine whether the differences we see across age groups are indeed due to generation or not. This additional step adds rigor to the process. Unfortunately, it’s often absent from current discussions about Gen Z, Millennials and other generations.

When we can’t do generational analysis, we still see value in looking at differences by age and will do so where it makes sense. Age is one of the most common predictors of differences in attitudes and behaviors. And even if age gaps aren’t rooted in generational differences, they can still be illuminating. They help us understand how people across the age spectrum are responding to key trends, technological breakthroughs and historical events.

Each stage of life comes with a unique set of experiences. Young adults are often at the leading edge of changing attitudes on emerging social trends. Take views on same-sex marriage , for example, or attitudes about gender identity .

Many middle-aged adults, in turn, face the challenge of raising children while also providing care and support to their aging parents. And older adults have their own obstacles and opportunities. All of these stories – rooted in the life cycle, not in generations – are important and compelling, and we can tell them by analyzing our surveys at any given point in time.

When we do have the data to study groups of similarly aged people over time, we won’t always default to using the standard generational definitions and labels. While generational labels are simple and catchy, there are other ways to analyze age cohorts. For example, some observers have suggested grouping people by the decade in which they were born. This would create narrower cohorts in which the members may share more in common. People could also be grouped relative to their age during key historical events (such as the Great Recession or the COVID-19 pandemic) or technological innovations (like the invention of the iPhone).

By choosing not to use the standard generational labels when they’re not appropriate, we can avoid reinforcing harmful stereotypes or oversimplifying people’s complex lived experiences.

Existing generational definitions also may be too broad and arbitrary to capture differences that exist among narrower cohorts. A typical generation spans 15 to 18 years. As many critics of generational research point out, there is great diversity of thought, experience and behavior within generations. The key is to pick a lens that’s most appropriate for the research question that’s being studied. If we’re looking at political views and how they’ve shifted over time, for example, we might group people together according to the first presidential election in which they were eligible to vote.

With these considerations in mind, our audiences should not expect to see a lot of new research coming out of Pew Research Center that uses the generational lens. We’ll only talk about generations when it adds value, advances important national debates and highlights meaningful societal trends.

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When It’s Time for an Aging Driver to Hit the Brakes

The “car key conversation” can be painful for families to navigate. Experts say there are ways to have it with empathy and care.

By Catherine Pearson

Sherrie Waugh has been yelled at, insulted and wept upon in the course of her job administering driving tests. Typically these extreme reactions happen when she is forced to render an upsetting verdict: It’s time to hang up the car keys.

Ms. Waugh, a certified driving rehabilitation specialist with The Brain Center, a private neuropsychology practice in Indiana, often works with older drivers, putting them through an assessment that measures things like visual skills, reaction time and processing speed.

“I had one gentleman, who had early onset dementia, who was just sitting here crying,” Ms. Waugh said. “His wife was out in the car and she was crying. And we all came back, and we were all crying. Because it’s so hard.”

Decisions about when an older person (or someone whose physical or mental circumstances make operating a vehicle dangerous) should stop driving are often agonizing. They can rock the driver’s sense of independence and identity, and add to the responsibilities that many family caregivers shoulder.

“It’s a major, major loss for older people,” said Lauren Massimo, an assistant professor at Penn Nursing. “It’s been described to me as dehumanizing.”

But it is important to raise concerns as soon as you have them, experts said, and there are ways to make the car key conversation less painful for older drivers and their loved ones.

Get a good look at the problem.

Before you ask a partner or parent to give up driving, do your research, experts say. Ms. Waugh, for instance, is surprised by the number of caregivers she sees who raise concerns about older drivers they haven’t actually driven with recently.

“If they need to pick up something at the grocery store, hop in the car,” she said. Take note: Are they missing traffic lights or safety signs? Are they struggling to maintain the speed limit or stay in their lane? Are they becoming confused about directions, particularly on familiar routes? Those are all signs that their driving skills may be waning.

And beware of ageism, especially when figuring out how to approach the conversation.

“It’s really not about their age,” said Marvell Adams Jr., the chief executive officer of the nonprofit Caregiver Action Network. “It’s about changes in their ability, which can happen to anyone.”

Mr. Adams suggested this opening gambit for a talk: “‘Hey, you know, I noticed it looks like your tires are getting beat up. Are you hitting the curb more often?’” His own mother made the decision to stop driving herself, he said, after she hit the gas pedal instead of the brake.

Pin the decision on someone else.

The driving conversation is one of the hardest parts of Dr. Massimo’s job as a health care provider who works with patients with neurodegenerative disease, she said. But she is happy to relieve caregivers of that burden.

“Make the provider the bad guy,” she said.

Many of Ms. Waugh’s clients come to her through referrals from primary care doctors, neurologists or eye doctors, though family members also reach out directly. She charges $175 for a 90-minute clinical assessment, and $200 for a road evaluation — fees that she acknowledged might be prohibitive for some families. (She has not succeeded in getting insurance to reimburse her clients.) But, experts say, professional driving evaluations can offer objectivity and clarity.

Ms. Waugh recently saw an older client who used to teach driver’s education and was miffed that his wife and doctor had been urging him to stop driving. During the evaluation, he struggled to finish short-term memory tests, including a simple maze and a counting exercise. When Ms. Waugh showed him his results, he finally understood that he posed a safety risk to himself and others on the road.

Have solutions ready.

Although giving up driving is rarely easy, services such as grocery delivery and ride-sharing apps can lessen the inconvenience and offer continued autonomy and independence, Mr. Adams said.

Make a plan for how you will help a retired driver get around. In addition to ride-sharing apps, the experts also mentioned public transportation and car pools, as well as friends and family members who might be able to give rides.

Consider risk-reduction strategies, too, Mr. Adams said. Maybe your partner or parent is safe to drive during the day, but not at night and not on the highway.

Even though older drivers and their family members may be loath to do it, look ahead.

“Make this a part of the conversation early,” said Cheryl Greenberg, who coaches seniors and their families on life transitions and planning in North Carolina. “You know, ‘You’re 60 years old and you’re driving just fine, but Mom, what would you do if the time came and you were less comfortable and less able?’”

All of the experts said that it was important to make space for big emotions around these conversations.

“Be empathic,” Dr. Greenberg said. “Don’t just go in and say, ‘Well, now you’re done driving.’ Listen. Ask questions that might help them be centered in the process.”

Catherine Pearson is a Times reporter who writes about families and relationships. More about Catherine Pearson

A Guide to Aging Well

Looking to grow old gracefully we can help..

Researchers are investigating how our biology changes as we grow older — and whether there are ways to stop it .

You need more than strength to age well — you also need power. Here’s how to measure how much power you have  and here’s how to increase yours .

Ignore the hyperbaric chambers and infrared light: These are the evidence-backed secrets to aging well .

Your body’s need for fuel shifts as you get older. Your eating habits should shift , too.

People who think positively about getting older often live longer, healthier lives. These tips can help you reconsider your perspective .

The sun’s rays cause the majority of skin changes as you grow older. Here’s how sunscreen helps prevent the damage .

Joint pain, stiffness and swelling aren’t always inevitable results of aging, experts say. Here’s what you can do to reduce your risk for arthritis .

NPR suspends senior editor Uri Berliner after essay accusing outlet of liberal bias

Npr suspended senior editor uri berliner a week after he authored an online essay accusing the outlet of allowing liberal bias in its coverage..

NPR has suspended a senior editor who authored an essay published last week on an online news site in which he argued that the network had "lost America's trust" because of a liberal bias in its coverage, the outlet reported.

Uri Berliner was suspended Friday for five days without pay, NPR reported Tuesday . The revelation came exactly a week after Berliner publicly claimed in an essay for The Free Press, an online news publication, that NPR had allowed a "liberal bent" to influence its coverage, causing the outlet to steadily lose credibility with audiences.

The essay reignited the criticism that many prominent conservatives have long leveled against NPR and prompted newsroom leadership to implement monthly internal reviews of the network's coverage, NPR reported. Berliner's essay also angered many of his colleagues and exposed NPR's new chief executive Katherine Maher to a string of attacks from conservatives over her past social media posts.

In a statement Monday to NPR, Maher refuted Berliner's claims by underscoring NPR's commitment to objective coverage of national issues.

"In America everyone is entitled to free speech as a private citizen," Maher said. "What matters is NPR's work and my commitment as its CEO: public service, editorial independence, and the mission to serve all of the American public. NPR is independent, beholden to no party, and without commercial interests."

Heat exposure law: Florida joins Texas in banning local heat protections for outdoor workers

Berliner rails against NPR's coverage of COVID-19, diversity efforts

Berliner, a senior business editor who has worked at NPR for 25 years, argued in the Free Press essay that “people at every level of NPR have comfortably coalesced around the progressive worldview.”

While he claimed that NPR has always had a "liberal bent" ever since he was hired at the outlet, he wrote that it has since lost its "open-minded spirit," and, hence, "an audience that reflects America."

The Peabody Award-winning journalist highlighted what he viewed as examples of the network's partisan coverage of several major news events, including the origins of COVID-19 and the war in Gaza . Berliner also lambasted NPR's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies – as reflected both within its newsroom and in its coverage – as making race and identity "paramount in nearly every aspect of the workplace.”

"All this reflected a broader movement in the culture of people clustering together based on ideology or a characteristic of birth," he wrote.

Uri Berliner's essay fuels conservative attacks on NPR

In response to the essay, many prominent conservatives and Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, launched renewed attacks at NPR for what they perceive as partisan coverage.

Conservative activist Christopher Rufo in particular targeted Maher for messages she posted to social media years before joining the network – her  first at a news organization . Among the posts singled out were  a 2020 tweet that called Trump racist .

Trump reiterated on his social media platform, Truth Social, his longstanding argument that NPR’s government funding should be rescinded.

NPR issues formal rebuke to Berliner

Berliner provided an NPR reporter with a copy of the formal rebuke for review in which the organization told the editor he had not been approved to write for other news outlets, as is required of NPR journalists.

NPR also said he publicly released confidential proprietary information about audience demographics, the outlet reported.

Leadership said the letter was a "final warning" for Berliner, who would be fired for future violations of NPR's policies, according to NPR's reporting. Berliner, who is a dues-paying member of NPR's newsroom union, told the NPR reporter that he is not appealing the punishment.

A spokeswoman for NPR said the outlet declined to comment on Berliner's essay or the news of his suspension when reached Tuesday by USA TODAY.

"NPR does not comment on individual personnel matters, including discipline," according to the statement. "We expect all of our employees to comply with NPR policies and procedures, which for our editorial staff includes the NPR Ethics Handbook ."

NPR staffer express dismay; leadership puts coverage reviews in place

According to the NPR article, Berliner's essay also invoked the ire of many of his colleagues and the reporters whose stories he would be responsible for editing.

"Newsrooms run on trust," NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben said in a post last week on social media site X, though he didn't mention Berliner by name. "If you violate everyone's trust by going to another outlet and [expletive] on your colleagues (while doing a bad job journalistically, for that matter), I don't know how you do your job now."

Amid the fallout, NPR reported that NPR's chief news executive Edith Chapin announced to the newsroom late Monday afternoon that Executive Editor Eva Rodriguez would lead monthly meetings to review coverage.

Berliner expressed no regrets about publishing the essay in an interview with NPR, adding that he tried repeatedly to make his concerns over NPR's coverage known to news leaders.

"I love NPR and feel it's a national trust," Berliner says. "We have great journalists here. If they shed their opinions and did the great journalism they're capable of, this would be a much more interesting and fulfilling organization for our listeners."

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]