Darke County Community Health Assessment

Purpose:

The purpose of the health assessment is to develop a Community Health Improvement Plan.  Individuals in the community as well as the youth will be surveyed to collect data regarding various health and environmental issues.  The community data will be used to help the county set public health priorities and to identify community organizations that can work together to address these priorities. 

The Surveys:

Telephone Survey:

Data is currently being collected via telephone to get responses from a minimum of 400 residents in Darke County.

Wright State Center for Urban and Public Affairs will be conducting the survey, and the survey will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.

At NO time in the survey will the surveyor ask for your social security number or account information.

Calls will be made to residences each day of the week.  Calls are generally made Monday through Thursday from 3pm to 9pm, Fridays from 10am to 7pm, Saturdays from 10pm to 4pm and Sundays from 2pm to 8pm. Callbacks and appointments scheduled outside of these calling windows will be accommodated.  The graduate research assistant overseeing the survey lab sets interviewer schedules based upon optimal calling times and appointments that have been made. 

Approximately 5% of completed surveys will receive a call back and will be asked a few questions to assure that the data was properly recorded and that the respondent was satisfied with their interaction with the interviewer.

Once the data is collected and analyzed, a detailed report of the statistics will be given comparing Darke County with similar counties around the state.  The data will also be compared to state and national data on applicable questions. 

Youth Survey:

Students in grades 7-12 will be surveyed utilizing CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey as a baseline. The Darke County General Health District will give the surveys to participating school districts within the county.  Once completed Wright State University will prepare summary data for all survey questions, and will compare Darke County data to state and national data on any applicable questions.

The Community Improvement Plan

The steps in developing the plan are as follows:

Step One: Self Assessment

The data collected from the surveys along with secondary sources of information  will be summarized to develop a brief summary of health concerns in the county.  Key priority health issues that the community can impact will be identified from the focus of the Strategic Health Plan.

Step Two: Build the Partnership

With input from the Darke County Health Commissioner, specific individuals will be identified that are directly involved with key priority health issues.  These individuals will form the Steering committee.

Step Three: Conduct Planning Activities

At its first meeting, the Steering Committee will review and solidify key priority issues.  For each priority health topic (up to 3), Wright State will review strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and work with the Steering Committee to articulate goals.

Step Four: Task Forces

Task forces for each priority issue will be established.  They will further clarify their priority health issues and establish objectives and strategies to address that along with the desired community health outcomes.  Task forces will identify if additional data is needed and assess the capacity of the community to impact the identified strategic health concerns.  Wright State will help establish an action plan with time frames for implementing priority objectives

An action plan for implementing priority objectives will be established.  The Task Forces will articulate who will lead, will establish a reporting mechanism and how progress will be measured.

Step Five: Evaluation

Wright State will assist the steering committee in establishing outcome indicators to measure progress toward accomplishing the goals.  The strategic plan can be used as guide for policy and administrative decisions, and to position the county for the award of additional grants.

Timeframes:

  

February 2011 thru June 2011

Assimilation of working sub-committees and & assessing goals, Completion of Community Health Improvement Plan Improvement Plan work groups to be facilitated by Wright State University

Partners:

WSU, Darke County Mental Health, Greenville City Schools, Darke County Schools, Family Health Services, Family Children First Council, Brethren Retirement Community, Wayne Health Care Hospital, Darke County Job & Family Services

Summary:

 The continuing role of the Steering Committee will be to oversee the process of program implementation, including obtaining funding as necessary, and to conduct evaluations of the programs to ensure that they are meeting the goals and objectives stated in the plan.

 Additional information comparing Darke County’s health to like counties across the nation is provided by the Community Health Status Indicators (CHSI) Report.  This report may be downloaded from the Health Resources & Services Administration web site.
 

Primary goals and objectives established during the last assessment conducted in 2001: Parenting – to provide parents with the resources and skills to enhance parental competency, resourcefulness, and self sufficiency in order to help their children become a positive influence in society.   Lifestyle - to improve and promote the physical, mental, and spiritual health of Darke County citizens.   Dental -  to increase the proportion of the population served with fluoridated water and to reduce the proportion of children with untreated dental decay.   Substance abuse – to reduce substance abuse to protect the health, safety, and quality of life for all, especially children.   Local health financing – to assure access to affordable primary care, home health care, assisted living, and hospice services for all residents through service delivery and education.

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  Page last updated: 2/11/2011