Our Picture of Health 1998:
Focusing on Community Health to the Year 2000APPENDIX
Background
Since 1992 Mesa County has tracked its progress toward a healthier community. The first effort — Healthy Communities 2000 — resulted in the formation of The Civic Forum.
The second Community Health Assessment completed in 1995 compiled results from research, focus group interviews, and a 1,000 household risk behavior survey, to paint a picture of the community. The resulting booklet, Mesa County: Our Picture of Health and its companion video Mesa County, A Garden to Grow People In, told the story of a strong volunteer force, an active senior population, a community of determined people who work together in boom or bust.
The study also outlined five areas of need: teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, arts and recreation, transportation and mental health.
Trend Benders
Trend Benders Mesa County was formed to bend the trend in these five areas. Its mission was to identify current programs, bring new people to the table and encourage collaborative projects.
Results: development and approval for public transportation development plan, creation of STARS — Summer Time Arts and Recreation for Students, and Red Ribbon Campaign expansion to full year. Trend Benders also joined forces with a teen pregnancy prevention task force started in 1992 to develop an action plan for teen pregnancy prevention.
1998 Assessment
The goal of the 1998 assessment was to identify index measures vital to sustaining economic, social and environmental health for today's citizens and future generations. Those qualities that make Mesa County so attractive today need to be monitored with an eye toward preservation.
On the other hand, those measures that, when not controlled, seriously impact the future of our quality of life need to be monitored with an eye toward improvement.
Methodology
Each of the 1995 indicators was examined to determine their validity and reliability. Then interviews were conducted asking:
What three things would make Mesa County the best place to live by the year 2020?Community meetings were held to clarify the vision of Mesa County residents.
Working teams for each of eight categories created vision and value statements based on community input, identified indicators reflecting that vision, and prioritized indicators according to criteria of reliability, accessibility, and relative importance.
Secondary Research
Research was conducted on indicators in eight categories. Each category was reviewed by the Trend Benders Coordinating Council and leaders in the particular field.
Information was collected from the Census Bureau, the county, state and national health departments, the Sheriff's Department, municipal police departments, school districts, and other federal and state agencies.
Every attempt has been made to gather current and accurate information. Some data are collected yearly, some less frequently. The data herein are the most current available.
Risk Behavior Survey
In both the 1995 and 1998 reports, the cumulative impact of individual choices on the health of Mesa County were measured in a Risk Behavior Survey. Professional Research Consultants of Nebraska conducted this telephone survey of 1,000 adults in the county.
The survey was based on the National Center for Disease Control Risk Behavior Survey. Supplemental questions were added as needed to understand specific indicators in Mesa County. Most material is comparable to Mesa County in 1995 and state and national trends. Questions related to education, spirituality and social environment were added in 1998 and do not have comparisons.
The sample design for the survey consisted of a random sample of 1,000 individuals aged 18 and older, selected in proportion to the actual population distribution at the zip code level in Mesa County. The maximum rate of error is plus or minus 3.1% at the 95 percent confidence level.
Each percentage point recorded among the total sample is representative of approximately 820 residents aged 18 and older. Thus, in a case where 3.4 percent of the total population responds to a survey question, more than 2,700 people are represented and should not be dismissed as too small to be significant.
National Goals
If national goals exist for specific indicators, those goals were stated as a point of comparison with local data. Mesa County goals may or may not differ from national recommendations, and for many indicators there is no national goal.
Healthy People 2000
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conducted a three-year study of health issues, producing a set of national disease prevention objectives to meet by the year 2000.
The objectives reflect the changing attitudes of Americans toward their personal health. These components spurred the creation of the Healthy People 2000 objectives.
The Mesa County Community Health Assessment refers to the Healthy People 2000 goals as a means of identifying how we are doing and how far we have to go compared to national goals.
Evaluation
Measures selected to represent each indicator were compared to:
- National goals
- State and/or national trends
- Previous Mesa County statistics
Positive trends feature a sunny design and compared favorably to one or more of the above. Indicators with a cloudy symbol are those that show mixed or fluctuating trends.
Negative trends are identified by a storm cloud and represent unacceptable or declining trends. Figures that contain descriptive data or have no comparison are not rated.
Linkages
Linkages were reported within categories and across categories. They were developed from reviews of literature and from community members' knowledge of the indicators.
Community Feedback
A draft of the summary chapter was made available at a community meeting in April, 1998. Participants met in category groups and reviewed a draft of the specific topic of interest to them. Participants were able to suggest new indicators for the future and to suggest editing changes as well as to begin to plan action to improve the quality of life for the people of Mesa County.
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