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Resident Feedback Provides Context for Texas County Health Assessment
HRiA's Lisa Wolff addresses members of The Health Collaborative during a presentation of the 2010 Bexar County Community Health Assessment in February.
(Watch the presentation here.)
(Watch the presentation here.)
March 20, 2011
Over 200 residents of Bexar County, Texas – home to the city of San Antonio – participated in focus groups, interviews, and community forums to assess the health of their community and provide a road map toward building healthier neighborhoods.
Conducted by Health Resources in Action for The Health Collaborative of Bexar County, the 14 month-long community health assessment provides a broad context for understanding how the environment in which people live impacts the choices they make when it comes to living healthier lives.
To facilitate conversations with residents, events were streamed live so they could watch online and post comments. Feedback was then collected and combined with traditional health, behavior, and economic data to figure out not just what was happening, but why.
Among the reports findings, the data showed neighborhoods with the lowest socio-economic status and the greatest percentage of minorities suffered most from chronic disease such as obesity and diabetes. The assessment lends a deeper understanding as to why these neighborhoods suffer disproportionately.
“The epidemiological data may say one thing, but understanding residents’ perceptions and needs is just as critical,” said Lisa Wolff, ScD, director of research and evaluation for HRiA.
"People were telling us, ‘We have such poor lighting and crime is so high, so I don’t want to be outside. I’d rather have my kids play video games at home because there are gangs in the park and the sidewalks are not maintained.’ It’s not just about people’s individual choices,” Wolff added, noting “it’s important for the healthy choice to be the easy choice.”
“HRiA did a great job getting people to open up,” said Elizabeth Delafuentes, executive director of The Health Collaborative. “Many people are not willing to share what’s happening inside their homes. Getting the conversation going takes skill, and these conversations got very personal.”
Residents voiced concerns about the teen pregnancy rate, for example, as well as obesity, lack of physical activity, and nutrition.
"This report will be our working document as we develop a broad-based community health improvement plan," said Steve Blanchard, PhD, a member of the collaborative.
"People in the community are already starting to talk about strategies," he said, "we’ve got a lot of momentum going."
HRiA has helped communities throughout the country assess health status and develop plans for improvement including right in it's own backyard of Boston having completed one for Children’s Hospital Boston in 2010 and currently working on two more, one for Brigham and Women’s Hospital and another for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Conducted by Health Resources in Action for The Health Collaborative of Bexar County, the 14 month-long community health assessment provides a broad context for understanding how the environment in which people live impacts the choices they make when it comes to living healthier lives.
To facilitate conversations with residents, events were streamed live so they could watch online and post comments. Feedback was then collected and combined with traditional health, behavior, and economic data to figure out not just what was happening, but why.
Among the reports findings, the data showed neighborhoods with the lowest socio-economic status and the greatest percentage of minorities suffered most from chronic disease such as obesity and diabetes. The assessment lends a deeper understanding as to why these neighborhoods suffer disproportionately.
“The epidemiological data may say one thing, but understanding residents’ perceptions and needs is just as critical,” said Lisa Wolff, ScD, director of research and evaluation for HRiA.
"People were telling us, ‘We have such poor lighting and crime is so high, so I don’t want to be outside. I’d rather have my kids play video games at home because there are gangs in the park and the sidewalks are not maintained.’ It’s not just about people’s individual choices,” Wolff added, noting “it’s important for the healthy choice to be the easy choice.”
“HRiA did a great job getting people to open up,” said Elizabeth Delafuentes, executive director of The Health Collaborative. “Many people are not willing to share what’s happening inside their homes. Getting the conversation going takes skill, and these conversations got very personal.”
Residents voiced concerns about the teen pregnancy rate, for example, as well as obesity, lack of physical activity, and nutrition.
"This report will be our working document as we develop a broad-based community health improvement plan," said Steve Blanchard, PhD, a member of the collaborative.
"People in the community are already starting to talk about strategies," he said, "we’ve got a lot of momentum going."
HRiA has helped communities throughout the country assess health status and develop plans for improvement including right in it's own backyard of Boston having completed one for Children’s Hospital Boston in 2010 and currently working on two more, one for Brigham and Women’s Hospital and another for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
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