This month, the “Take Charge of Your Health Today” page focuses on healthy relationships. Vianca Masucci, health advocate at the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, and Esther L. Bush, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, speak on this topic.
EB: Good morning, Vianca. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to talk about healthy relationships.
VM: Hi, Ms. Bush. This is a good time to focus on the topic of healthy relationships. But I think that this is a topic that we should discuss all the time, at every level. Relationships are an important part of our wellness.
EB: They surely are. Our social and romantic relationships influence our overall health and quality of life. Relationships that promote good health are respectful, loving and mutually beneficial, meaning that both you and your partner are supporting each other’s needs. Unhealthy relationships are controlling and abusive in some way—physically, sexually, emotionally, financially, etc.
VM: Unhealthy relationships in the context of domestic or intimate partner violence is not a new topic to the “Take Charge” series. As I’m sure you remember, Ms. Bush, we’ve covered it a few times before on this page. The reason that it keeps coming up is because this continues to be a persistent and prevalent issue across all walks of life. That’s why I’m happy that we could feature Dr. Miller’s research this month. Her work is focused on solutions and preventing violence by teaching youths about healthy relationships. It’s a good jumping-off point for a conversation about how we can tackle this problem head-on as individuals in our close circles and as community members in our bigger circles.
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