County health survey wants community input

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Updated: November 26, 2011 12:31AM

Residents of Lake County are invited to sound-off in a new public health survey.

The Lake County Community Survey asks participants to rate quality-of-life issues including health care, the environment and job availability. It asks how the county rates “as a place to raise children,” “as a place to grow old,” “as a safe community.”

Survey takers, who are also invited to add their own comments, are asked to rate the importance of certain aspects of a community — things like safe neighborhoods, affordable housing and racial and ethnic diversity.

The survey is part of a four-pronged strategic planning initiative based on MAPP, or Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships, a tool developed by the National Association of County and City Health Officials in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mark Pfister, the Lake County Health Department’s director of population health services, said he hopes to get 10,000 responses from the digital survey, which is being disseminated via e-mailed links.

“We want to get a better understanding of what the community thinks is important and increase the visibility of what health is in our community,” Pfister said.

The survey also attempts to gauge the community’s awareness and concern about diseases including cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as public health problems like drug and tobacco use, underage drinking and domestic violence.

In addition to the survey, MAPP is generating three other assessments for Lake County, including the capacity of the local public health system to conduct essential public health services; an analysis of data on health, quality of life and risk factors; and identification of forces, like funding cuts and the Affordable Care Act, that are affecting the local public health system.

Pfister emphasizes the many community partners and agencies working on the local implementation of MAPP.

“The goal is to create a much stronger coalition and infrastructure of people working on health issues,” he said. “The health department has been in a period of growth for many, many years. But funding is going in the other direction. We need partners and collaborators to address these difficult health challenges.”

Survey results will be collected through Oct. 21. The MAPP project, including action strategies and metrics for measuring outcomes, is slated for completion by March 2012.