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Example 2: Community Concerns: Community Health Concerns Ottawa County, KS

BACKGROUND:

Ottawa County received a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation to explore how health services might be improved. Part of this grant is designed to encourage community-based health promotion. The first step in this process involves identifying community health concerns. A small group of citizens developed a survey on community health issues encountered by Ottawa County citizens.

The survey was sent out to all households in the County (approximately 2,500). In addition, the survey was printed on an entire page of the local newspaper (circulation approximately 1,600). Surveys were hand-distributed to numerous sites in the County, including Senior Centers, business clubs (such as the VFW and Lions), at the local hospital and Emergency Medical Service site, and at a festival in Minneapolis, the county seat. The county has a population of approximately 5,500 persons. Citizens returned 593 surveys, for a response rate of 11%.

In the survey, people were asked to rate how important each issue was, and how satisfied they were with how the issue was being addressed in the County. An example question is included below:

  Importance of the Issue   Satisfaction with the community's efforts
Not      Very Not   Very
Vaccinations are available and affordable. 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00
 
Relative Strengths:The surveys were collected, entered into a database, and analyzed to determine a) what issues were important to citizens of the county, and b) how satisfied citizens were with how the county deals with these important issues. There were 27 community health issues in the survey.

Items with high importance and satisfaction ratings are considered strengths -- they're important, and the community is doing a good job in dealing with them. The issue in the above example emerged as a relative strength in Ottawa County:

  Importance of the Issue   Satisfaction with the community's efforts
Not      Very Not   Very
Vaccinations are available and affordable. 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00
            93%          84%

 

Of people who filled out the survey, there was a 93% average rating on the importance scale (it would be 100% if all respondents rated it very important). There was an 84% satisfaction rating with the community's efforts on this topic. This is high compared to satisfaction ratings on other items.

Implications. Why are citizens satisfied with aspects of the community that received high ratings? Are these strengths at risk? Are subgroups of citizens dissatisfied with efforts in this area? Listening sessions around the community can help answer these and other important questions about the relative strengths in Ottawa County.

  Importance of the Issue   Satisfaction with the community's efforts
Not      Very Not   Very
Vaccinations are available and affordable. 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00
            81%          40%

Of people who filled out the survey, there was an 81% average rating on the importance scale. There was a 40% satisfaction rating (If all people gave it the lowest possible score, the satisfaction rating would be 0%). This rating of 40% is low compared to other issues on the survey.

Implications: Why are these aspects of the community (like recycling) considered to be problems? What might be done to work with others in the community to improve issues that are considered problems? Listening sessions around the community can help answer these and other important questions about the relative problems in Ottawa County.

Future Directions:
Using these data on the strengths and problems of community health issues in the County, citizens may wish to set up committees or task forces to address one or several of the most burning issues. Listening sessions will provide potential solutions to some of the problems. Task forces may wish to do more systematic "strategic planning" around some issues. Community citizens can be recruited to work on problems of most interest to them

 Relative Strenghts

Item  Survey Question Average Importance Average Satisfaction
3.00  Vaccinations are available and affordable.  93%  84%
5.00 Emergency Medical Services are available. 95%   79%
18.00 Transportation is available for people who may need special assistance, such as older adults and people with disabilities. 87% 80%
22.00  Hospice services are available and affordable.  89%  77%
24  Older adults get enough nutritious food to eat through home delivered meals or are able to attend group meals. 87%  78%
27.00  Adequate skilled health care is available for older, frail adults who need it. 89%   73%
4.00 People have access to basic, affordable health care services, including regular checkups, dental, eye exams, glasses, mental health, and orthodontic care as needed.  91%  65%
21.00  Older adults get the help they need to stay in their homes even if they have health problems. 87%   68%
16.00  Medical care is available and affordable for all pregnant women throughout their pregnancies.  86%  67%
1.00 Health insurance is available. 91%  61%

 

Relative Problems

Item  Survey Question  Average Importance  Average Satisfaction
11.00 Communities are encouraged to recycle items that contribute to environmental pollution. 81%    40%
2.00  Health insurance is affordable.   82% 45%
9.00  Insurance companies offer lower rates for patients who practice healthy lifestyles.   82% 45%
10.00 Victims of child abuse, domestic violence, and sexual assault get the help they need.  90%   51%
12.00 The community's drinking water is of good quality.   88%  50%
26.00 Community education programs provide knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases and safe sex practices.   82%  47%
14.00 Employers give bonuses or time off to employees who attend classes designed to promote exercise, stress management, and a healthy diet. 68% 36%
7.00 Treatment services for drug and alcohol abuse are available and affordable.  83% 49%
8.00 Laws against selling alcohol to minors are strictly enforced. 89%   53%
6.00 Teens have access to pregnancy prevention services and counseling. 83%  52%
19.00  Prescription drugs are affordable and come with clear instructions.  88%  56%
13.00 Health care providers assess and counsel patients about their physical fitness as a normal part of routine physical examinations.   81%  54%