Summit County health department launches five‑year community health assessment, seeks 1,000 survey responses

Nancy, a Summit County health department staff member, told the Summit County Council of Governments that the county has launched a community health assessment (CHA) and is seeking broad community participation. The department said the CHA — required about once every five years — will combine primary data (a public survey and focus groups) with secondary data (census figures, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data and other public sources).

The health department has opened a roughly 60‑question online survey that it said takes 10–15 minutes to complete; paper questionnaires and a Spanish translation will be available. Nancy said the department intends to post periodic survey results on its website after initial response thresholds are met and will keep the survey open through November to allow continued collection. The department’s stated target is about 1,000 completed surveys overall, and roughly 400 Latino respondents to enable subgroup analysis.

The CHA is described as a five‑step process. Staff said they are in Step 1 — collecting and analyzing data — and will use that evidence to identify priority areas and to write a final report. The CHA will also inform a community health improvement plan (CHIP) expected to begin in 2025, and could be used if the health department pursues public‑health accreditation.

Nancy described outreach already under way: two focus groups facilitated by an independent mediator (Mountain Mediation) — one in Camas (14 attendees) and one at Swaner (about 35 attendees) — plus planned visits to schools and senior centers. The department’s communications coordinator, Isaac Cortez, prepared a short explainer video and a media package; Nancy said she will include a short web link optimized for texting and sample text language to ease peer‑to‑peer distribution.

Council members asked practical questions about accessibility and outreach. One council member asked whether materials would be available in Spanish; Nancy confirmed translations are nearly complete and that all promotional materials and both paper and online surveys will be bilingual. Another member asked about engaging seniors; Nancy said teams will visit senior centers with paper surveys and iPads and offer staff assistance to complete the questionnaire.

The department said it will begin analyzing secondary data immediately and will incorporate primary‑data survey and focus‑group results into final analyses. The health department expects to present a final report to the board of health in December and to use the findings to shape the CHIP in 2025.