Community Health surveys for 2016 are available online
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on February 4, 2016 1:46 PM
Now's your chance to weigh in on the quality of life in Wayne County.
It takes less than a half hour to fill out an online survey, with information to be compiled for the 2016 Community Health Assessment.
Anyone 18 and older is encouraged to complete the survey, which contains demographic information as well as the opportunity to look at the most pressing needs in the community.
The latest tool for doing that is being spearheaded by the Wayne County Health Department, Wayne Memorial Hospital, Wayne County Public Library and the YMCA.
"A big part of the Health Department's mission is to collect and analyze data from our community members that will aid in the improvement of our public's health," said Shamika Howell, health education supervisor with the Health Department. "The tool that we use when the data is compiled is called a Community Health Assessment. This tool is a customary practice and core function of public health, and also is a national standard for all public health departments.
"In order for us to get the community involved, we have developed a survey tool that we distribute to community members throughout all of Wayne County. This survey will allow our community members to learn more about the health and quality of life in Wayne County."
The online survey can be found at http://tinyurl.com/2016WayneCHA. Hard copy paper versions are also available at the Health Department, all locations of the public library, WAGES Head Start and Goshen Medical Center. The versions are available in both English and Spanish.
Organizers said it takes 20 to 30 minutes to take the survey, and all answers are confidential.
The surveys are due by Feb. 8. Paper copies can be dropped off at any of the above locations.
Dr. Kim Larson, Board of Health member, said the last community health assessment was done three years ago.
"Eighty-three percent of the respondents were women," she said at the December board meeting. "It was a poor representation of the county. We need everyone to talk about this survey.
"Fifty percent of the last survey (respondents) were between 35 and 54 so we didn't have very good age representation," she said.
The original version was much lengthier, she said, and has been pared down to 10 pages.
"It's a checklist -- it's asking you to fill in the top five problems in Wayne County," she said.
The survey looks at issues facing the community, with respondents asked to rank the top five things they feel most affect the quality of life here. The list draws upon a range of categories, including pollution, dropping out of school, substance abuse, neglect and abuse of the elderly and children, domestic violence and violent crime, and discrimination and racism.
"The biggest weakness from last time was that we were not diverse," Ms. Larson said.
She said that moving forward, it is important to have as many take the survey as possible.
"Our role is to really get our colleagues and other people around the county to fill this survey out," she said. "This data is so critical. We base the next three years on the strategic plan on this data."
Jana Blackman, director of health promotion at Wayne Memorial Hospital, also encouraged area residents to participate.
"The state requires 400 surveys," she said. "We'll take as many as we can get.
"We're trying to get some really good data for this report."