"It's a key component to improving things," he said.
Each year before the annual Social Wellbeing Forum, a study is produced that focuses on one critical issue.
This year it was Palmerston North's lack of public transport and how it affects people accessing healthcare.
"We don't have a health shuttle, so we use Feilding and Levin's shuttles," he said.
"Taxis are expensive; sometimes they're subsidised by ACC, sometimes they're not.
"If you're trying to get to a doctor's appointment at 4pm, is there a bus that will get you there? And if you're stuck in the doctor or hospital for two or three hours then how will you get home?
"People are missing appointments because they can't get transport," Fraser said.
The findings of this study were presented to Horizons Regional Council last week.
"Public transport is probably a national problem, but the implications of that locally might be unique, and that's where we can drill down and start to address that (in the report)," he said.
He stressed the importance of community connectedness and another issue that was identified.
"Perhaps as a society we have forgotten that it takes a village to raise a child."
As many of the same issues crop up year after year, Fraser said they now tried to produce a report that was more solutions focused.
The city council finances the report, and Fraser hopes its findings help mould the annual plans and long-term plan process.
"Hopefully from the report we will build more community resilience and solutions," he said.
The Social Wellbeing Forum Report is still to be collated and is expected to be released by the end of May.
