UPPER PENINSULA, Mich. (WZMQ) – Thousands of Upper Peninsula residents will be getting a survey in their mailboxes in the coming days.
All six U.P. health departments are collaborating to conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment. Over 24,000 randomly-selected homes across the U.P’s 15 counties will be getting a survey from their local health department.
It’s done every three years to gauge the overall health of the U.P. population and to see what needs residents want health departments to address.
“Sometimes these Community Health Needs Assessments are done on the national level, but they really don’t represent the local opinion, or local needs, like this survey,” said Kate Beer, the health officer and administrator at the Western U.P. Health Department in Hancock.
Beer said the 10-minute survey packet asks residents about everything from their smoking and exercise habits, to what they feel needs to be addressed in their community and the type of programming that would meet their needs best.
Beer said in the past few cycles, the survey has shown a great emphasis on how social determinants, like income and living conditions, affect health. It’s also shown how the U.P.’s population is aging, and the health needs that come with that.
“For example, Ontonagon County has over 37% of their population over 65,” said Beer. “Those are important facts that we can use to further the programming needs of our communities to a very specific, local level.”
Beer said they’re hoping to receive a few thousand responses from each county. Then, the data will be compiled into a book that will be released in the spring.
“Currently, that book is over 400 pages long,” Beer chuckled. “So, it ends up being a great resource for small non-profits or even some large non-profits to go ahead with some planning– and hospitals, too.”
The survey will be open until November 15th. Each household that completes the survey by October 31 is entered into a drawing to receive one of 28 $50 grocery gift card. The survey responses are anonymous, and the findings will be published as an entire county, not as individual households.
Funding for the survey was provided by a grant given to the six UP health departments: Western UP Health Department, Public Health Delta & Menominee Counties, Dickinson-Iron District Health Department, LMAS District Health Department, Chippewa County Health Department, and the Marquette County Health Department. Upper Peninsula Health Care Solutions, Inc. and Upper Peninsula Health Plan provided mailing support for the project.
