
Health and Medicine
This page is part of Activate Good’s collaborative online knowledge base about issues impacting the Triangle area that can be tackled through volunteer action and more!
Health and Medicine Quick Facts
- 1 in 3 American families struggle to afford diapers
- About 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer in their lifetime
- 38.4 million people globally were living with HIV in 2021
- There are 14.6 million people living with HIV who don’t have access to treatment
- Gay and bisexual men of all races and ethnicities are most disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic
- People with diabetes account for $1 of every $4 spent on healthcare in the U.S.
- From 2014 to 2019 the average price per insulin unit rose 54%
- Around 1 in 10 people in the United States are living without health insurance
- In North Carolina during January–September 2020, deaths from COVID-19 were 1.6 times higher among Black persons than among non-Hispanic White person
- NC currently ranks 47th in the nation for disparities in health status
- More than 50 million Americans struggle with mental illness
- Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide
- 1,469,000 adults in North Carolina have a mental health condition
- Of the 452,000 adults in North Carolina who did not receive needed mental health care, 44.8% did not because of cost
- Members of LGBTQ+ community are almost 3 times more likely to experience a mental health condition such as major depression or generalized anxiety disorder
- 180,000 people aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s in North Carolina
Explore Articles
Check out some of our awesome Community Partners working in this cause area!

How You Can Help
Learning Resources
Interested in learning more about this issue? Check out some of these books, articles, documentaries, podcasts, and more.
Articles
- Invisible Illness Awareness – The Struggle Continues, Multiple Sclerosis News Today (2017)
- Forty-one NC counties classified as “high risk” in new opioid study, NC Health News (2019)
- Covid-19 and Race in North Carolina, NC Child (2020)
- Health Disparities, CDC (2020)
- About Mental Health, CDC (2021)
Documentaries and Videos
- We All Have Mental Health, Anna Freud NCCF, YouTube
- The Alzheimer’s Project: The Memory Loss Tapes, Hulu
Podcasts and Other Resources
Learning is a lifelong process — there’s always new information out there, and the journey to share it is best completed together. Would you like to help us collect and share knowledge about this topic? Learn about contributing here.
Other Ways to Make an Impact

Volunteer
- Visit our website to sign up for needs of health and medicine focused organizations, or specific opportunities that benefit the public health.

Work
- Advocate for practices and policies at your place of work, like wellness days

Listen & Learn
- Check out resources right on this page!
- Follow some of our Community Partners and other organizations on social media to learn right from the source

Service
- Consider taking up a leadership position in the community and using your platform to advance the cause

Voice
- Talk about the issue with your friends and family
- Use your social media to share cause-related news and information
- Participate in public comment sessions and complete community surveys
- Find and sign a related petition using Change.org!
- Get a yearly flu shot
- Stay up to date on vaccinations

Donate

Purchase Power
- Consider shopping locally
- Support a nonprofit that offers services or runs a storefront
- Purchase from one of the B-Corps based in North Carolina

Vote
- Do your due diligence in researching candidates, platforms, and policies.
- Common Cause is a great tool for learning about your representatives and what they advocate!
- Mark your calendars for the next local election, and participate

Social Entrepreneur
- Have an innovative idea on how to address part of the issue? Develop a new initiative!
- Consider whether your company could become a benefit corporation or a certified B Corps
Learning is a lifelong process — there’s always new information out there, and the journey to share it is best completed together. Would you like to help us collect and share knowledge about this topic? Learn about contributing here.
Read About Other Community Issues
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