Community health needs assessment in Wake County, North Carolina: partnership of public health, hospitals, academia, and other stakeholders.
BACKGROUND
Hospitals and other health care agencies are required to conduct a community health needs assessment (CHNA) every 3 years to obtain information about the health needs and concerns of the population. In 2013, to avoid duplication of efforts and to achieve a more comprehensive CHNA, Wake County Human Services, WakeMed Health and Hospitals, Duke Raleigh Hospital, Rex Healthcare, Wake Health Services, United Way of the Greater Triangle, and the North Carolina Institute for Public Health partnered to conduct a joint assessment for Wake County.


METHODS
Information was collected from the community through opinion surveys and focus groups. To understand the social, economic, and health status of Wake County residents, statistics were also collected from state, county, and local sources. Analysis of all data sources allowed 9 areas of community concern to be identified. Five community forums were held simultaneously at locations in east, south, west, north, and central Wake County to inform residents about the main findings of the assessment and to prioritize the 9 areas of concern.


RESULTS
The top 3 priority areas identified were poverty and unemployment, health care access and utilization, and mental health and substance use.


CONCLUSIONS
Results may not be generalizable to counties in North Carolina that are more rural or to counties outside North Carolina.


CONCLUSIONS
The success of this unique collaborative process provides further opportunity for the project partners and other organizations to coordinate action plans, pool resources, and jointly address the priorities of this assessment over the next 3 years.
Wake County Human Services, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
Edie
E
Alfano-Sobsey
Division of Public Health, Wake County Human Services, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
Sue Lynn
SL
Ledford
North Carolina Institute for Public Health, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Kasey
K
Decosimo
Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Texas A and M School of Rural Public Health, College Station, Texas, USA. horney@srph.tamhsc.edu.
Jennifer A
JA
Horney
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009657:North Carolina; D011634:Public Health; D012424:Rural Population; D014495:Universities