Investigating the Link between Community Planning and Engagement and Health Care Delivery Using the National Health Security Preparedness Index

The underlying question for this research is does stronger social capital in a state contribute to stronger health preparedness which then contributes to better health management generally? This study investigates the theory that the types of community planning and engagement involved in health system preparedness and other civic endeavors positively contributes to day-to-day health care operations. To test this theory, data from the Robert Wood Johnson National Health Security Preparedness Index was used. The analyses conducted did find statistically significant relationships between subdomains of community planning and engagement and health care delivery. Subdomains of countermeasures management and information management were found to be statistically significant as well. These findings suggest that particular aspects of community engagement and social capital should be focused on in order to promote improved health performance in different aspects of the field.