BY DEBBIE PAGE

The Healthy Iredell Coalition is asking adult and teenage residents to participate in an anonymous survey that will be used to create the Iredell County Community Health Assessment (CHA).

Surveys for adults and youth ages 12 to 17 are now available online. Some 271 surveys have been completed in the first few weeks, according to Iredell Health Department Health Promotion Coordinator Dinikia Savage.

The Healthy Iredell Coalition members, who helped develop this survey, selected an inspiring paraphrase of a Coretta Scott King quotation to inspire community members to participate in the survey: “The greatness of a community is truly measured by the kind actions of its members.”

Participating in this anonymous survey is an act of kindness for all community and family members since it will help the Health Department better care for everyone’s health needs by investing resources to address the community’s most prevalent health issues.

The Healthy Iredell Coalition selected 74 survey questions to help identify key health data to help focus its programming to be proactive about community health problems and also assists the department and area agencies obtain resources such as grants, access to services, or increased staffing to combat these issues.

The CHA report will also provide the data to help Iredell County to qualify for government funding, to assist non-profit and government agencies in applying for grant funds to address their individual priorities, to educate the community, and to make specific recommendations for county resources to assist community members.

The survey collects information on the respondent’s demographics, top health concerns, needed improvements in healthcare access, services and resources, knowledge of resources, the state of social determinants of health, chronic diseases and cancer, health risk behaviors, activity levels and diet, tobacco, substance and alcohol use, infant and mental health, and child/teen health, preventative health measures, emergency and disaster preparedness, use of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, environmental health concerns (fumes, litter, water quality, etc.), neighborhood safety, and pet healthcare.

THE SURVEY

The Adult Survey helps the coalition monitor the health status of the community and develop the yearly State of the County Health Report. The coalition also gathers data in other ways for the Health Department and coordinates subcommittees that work to improve specific health issues indicated by the CHA.

A separate Youth Survey also focuses on this group’s differing health needs and habits to better reach teens with targeted programming. Teen/youth-centered organizations will be asked to encourage their population’s participation, with parental consent

Both adult and youth surveys are being distributed using QR codes through through email and social media blasts through agencies, healthcare organizations and hospitals, and faith based partners. The Health Department will also have paper surveys available at the department and at community events throughout the area over the next few months.

Respondents may skip any questions they desire.

Coalition members ask all county organizations, especially in the northern part of the county, to increase help participation. The goal is to gather 4,000 survey responses.

After the survey process is completed on September 30, the Health Department will analyze the data and develop new strategies to target health inequities and identify the resources to fill in the identified gaps.

This data collection helps increase knowledge about community members’ health needs and seeks to connect them to activities, education, and community resources to improve their health outcomes.

The data helps the Health Department develop focus areas and to create a Community Health Action Plan to mitigate prevalent community health concerns over the next four-year cycle.

After the 2019 survey, the coalition developed programs to address cancer treatment and prevention, fitness and diet, mental health, and youth wellness, based on the data collected that year.

The completed 2023 Community Health Assessment report, which feature compiled survey data and plans to improve community health gleaned from that data, is due to the state in March of 2024.

Adult Survey

Scan the QR Code, click on the ad or visit

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Adult2023CHA to complete the adult survey.

Teen Survey

HEALTHY IREDELL COALITION

Healthy Iredell Coalition members are representatives from nonprofit agencies and residents who have a variety of skills necessary for the process, including assessment knowledge, problem solving, building community collaborations and partnerships, awareness of heath and other resources, project management, presentation skills, and change management, to help facilitate the process.

Savage invites interested stakeholders to join the coalition to be a part of the solution to Iredell County residents’ health concerns. If interested, contact her at dinikia.savage@co.iredell.nc.us.