Community Health Assessment (CHA) and Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)
The Clark County Community Health Assessment (CHA) is a report on the status of the health and well-being of our residents and identifies top health priority areas for the next 3 years. The Clark County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is a plan for action developed by a partnership of community agencies, non-profits, citizens, and health care providers. The CHIP is a community blueprint of goals to improve the health for everyone and to get closer to achieving health equity.
Below you will find links to the full CHA and CHIP. There is a lot of good information in these documents but it’s a lot to digest. That’s why we also provide some short summaries of the work going on in the community, our overall progress toward our goals, and some of our success stories.
Health Priority Topics
Our health is influenced by many things. We all know that what we eat and how much we exercise impact our long-term health. But did you know that where you live, how much income you have, and your educational attainment impact your health just as much? Given the importance of these “social determinants of health,” CCCHD values the feedback from our local partners and stakeholder agencies that have programs that directly impact the populations we jointly serve. Data collection through the CHA process, community forums, and input from our partners and stakeholders resulted in the selection of the following priority health impact areas:
Chronic diseases are the leading causes of death in Clark County. They are defined broadly as conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both. The most common chronic diseases include heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Many chronic diseases are caused by a short list of health behaviors: tobacco use, poor nutrition, lack of physical activity and excessive alcohol use.
We also know that where a person lives, their income level, and their race can be predictive factors for chronic disease. These societal inequities can make it more difficult for some individuals to adopt healthy lifestyles. We strive to address both individual behavior and the societal inequities to help our residents live healthier, longer lives.
Goals determined for Chronic Disease:
- Decrease adult tobacco use in Clark County from 26% to 21% by December 31, 2022.
- Decrease the percentage of adults who report no leisure time physical activity from 30% to 26% by December 31, 2022.
- Decrease the percentage of population who lacks access to healthy food in Clark County from 15% to 14% by December 31, 2022.
- Decrease the diabetes associated mortality rate from 34.4 to 25.4 by December 31, 2022.
Infant mortality is an important marker of the overall health of the community. The rate is regarded as a highly sensitive measure of population health because there is an association between the causes of infant mortality and other factors that influence health status of whole populations such as quality of the environment and access to healthcare.
Pregnancy and early life are critical times to ensure healthy development, address health risks and prevent future problems for women and their children. Their well-being determines the health of the next generation and can help predict the future public health challenges for families and communities.
The health of the community is also reliant on pre-conception and sexual health. Sexual health is defined as a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships as well as the freedom from coercion, discrimination and violence.
Goals determined for Maternal Child and Sexual Health:
- Reduce infant mortality rate from 6.8 to 5.7 by December 31, 2022.
- Reduce the rate of teen births rate per 100,000 from 26.9 to 12.3 be December 31, 2022.
- Reduce the rate (number of cases per 100,000) of Chlamydia in Clark County from 619.1 to 543.4 by December 31, 2022.
- Reduce the rate (number of cases per 100,000) of Syphilis in Clark County from 61.7 to 55.5 by December 31, 2022.
Oftentimes, “health” is thought of as physical. In Clark County, we know health is much more than that. It also can mean that someone is depressed, anxious, or addicted to drugs or alcohol. These problems can decrease quality of life and negatively impact physical health. Just like heart attacks can cause premature death without proper care, illnesses like substance abuse or mental illness also can lead to early death through overdose and suicide.
That’s why it is important to help those who are in crisis now, but also focus heavily on evidence-based prevention strategies to stave off future crises. These efforts can significantly reduce deaths by suicide and overdose in Clark County and provide our communities with resilience and healthy coping skills.
No person is untouched by mental health or substance use concerns—whether personally or through their relationships. Addressing mental health and substance use problems can proactively help our communities get and stay well: now and into the future.
Goals determined for Mental Health and Substance Use:
- Reduce the rate (number of cases per 100,000) of overdose death from 46.2 to 36.4 by December 31, 2022.
- Reduce the rate (number of cases per 100,000) of suicide deaths from 19.6 to 15.2 by December 31, 2022.
- Reduce the number of reported poor mental health days in adults from 5.2 to 4.8 by December 31, 2022.
The Social Determinants of Health committees are in various stages of development. The Trauma Steering Committee presented strategies and process objectives were chosen by the Clark County Community Health Community during the CHIP planning process. The Transportation and Housing committees are in development.
- Trauma
- Five Clark County organizations will commit to conducting a trauma informed assessment by December 31, 2022.
- Five Clark County organizations will develop an action plan for becoming more trauma informed by December 31, 2022
- Transportation
- A team connected to TCC is working with a consultant and the current activity includes walk audits and survey for feedback.
- Housing
- Plans are in the works to hire a contractor to look at affordable housing and homelessness in Clark County.
- In November 2021, the community received funding from ODH through CCCHD for the purposes of lead poisoning prevention – expectations include developing a community stategic plan for lead poisoning prevention.
Snapshots of the Community
Once snapshots of the data are available, they will be available here.
How was it created?
Clark County utilizes the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) process to conduct community health assessments, guide community health improvement planning, and engage community partnerships. To access further information regarding the MAPP process, please visit the NACCHO webpage. Below you will find dropdown sections explaining what it takes to complete the CHA and CHIP.
The first step was to complete a comprehensive collection and analysis of data that was used to identify the health needs of our community. This data report is a snapshot of the health and well-being of residents in Clark County and it served as a road map for addressing those health and health related issues impacting the overall health of our communities.
This report was used at focus groups. The intent of the focus groups was to get direct feedback from individuals that live, work and play in the communities we serve about the factors that impact health. At these forums, residents joined us, participated in discussions and provided feedback regarding the most pressing health needs impacting their communities.
With the CHA completed we had a roadmap to inform community decision-making, the prioritization of health problems and ultimately the development of the Clark County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP).
The CHA was an important piece in the development of a CHIP because it helped the community understand the health and health related issues that need addressed. It also provided the most current and reliable information about the health status of our community and where gaps may exist in achieving optimal health.
CCCHD engaged and assembled the Clark County Community Health Improvement Steering Committee to complete the CHIP process. Clark County Community Health Improvement Steering Committee is a partnership between government agencies, non-profit organizations, and healthcare organizations from throughout the community.
State Health Assessment (SHA) and State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP)
The priority topics along with the three selected social determinants of health align with health improvement initiatives at the state and national level. This alignment positions Clark County to benefit from resources such as funding, intentional data collection efforts, demonstrated evidence-based practices, complimentary policy change, as well as wide-spread campaigns and health promotion efforts. These factors contribute to an increased state of community readiness.
To learn more about the SHA, please visit the Online State Health Assessment and to learn more about the SHIP, please visit the State Health Improvement Plan webpage.
Acknowledgements
The Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is a result of collaborative community participation. In addition to the CHA/CHIP Steering Committee members listed below, contributors include multiple task force and coalition partners, as well as individual community members:
- City of Springfield
- CitiLookout
- Clark County Combined Health District
- Clark County Commissioners
- Clark County Family & Children First Council
- Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordinating Committee
- Community Health Foundation
- Developmental Disabilities of Clark County
- Educational Service Center
- Mental Health Recovery Board of Clark, Greene & Madison Counties
- Mental Health Services for Clark and Madison Counties
- Mercy Health-Springfield
- New Carlisle Community Health Center
- Ohio Valley Surgical Hospital
- Rocking Horse Community Health Center
- Springfield Foundation
- Springfield Metropolitan Housing Association
- United Senior Services
- Wittenberg University