Nashville Launches Large-Scale Health Assessment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 7, 2018

Nashville Launches Large-Scale Health Assessment
First community health survey in nearly 20 years to inform future priorities

NASHVILLE – Metro Public Health Department (MPHD) and NashvilleHealth are launching the Nashville Community Health + Well-being Survey, a foundational, county-wide survey of the health of Nashville residents. The large-scale assessment, to be sent to more than 12,000 residents, will provide valuable data about health-related behaviors, chronic health conditions, preventive health practices and how the local environment impacts opportunities for well-being.

“This project will provide comprehensive baseline health data for Davidson County – data that do not exist today,” said Senator Bill Frist, M.D., founder and chairman of NashvilleHealth. “These data will be critical to better understanding the health needs of our city and establishing a baseline from which we can all measure the effectiveness of our interventions and collective programs moving forward.”

The data from the survey will help gain an accurate picture of the health of the city and inform and enhance the work being done today. It will also play an important role in setting future priorities regarding the health of Nashville’s population, allowing non-profits, businesses, governments and other organizations to better serve the needs of the community. Future surveys are envisioned to track progress over time.

“I’m committed to this effort to make Nashville a healthier community,” said Mayor David Briley, Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County. “Only with a comprehensive assessment like this will we know the challenges and opportunities to the health and well-being of Nashvillians. This survey will give us data to better serve our residents.”

The survey, conducted by the nationally-recognized Survey Research Lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will be administered in both English and Spanish, and respondents will be able to reply via web or mail. The questions included in the survey were selected from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and other national surveys to address Nashville’s unique health-related priorities and determinants.

Surveys will be mailed beginning in late September with a first round of data expected by the end of the year, and final data sets delivered by early 2019. Once final, the data will be disseminated in multiple formats including reports, web portal or special request to the health department.

This year, the Mayor’s Healthy Nashville Leadership Council is undertaking a multifaceted Community Health Assessment (CHA) in coordination with area hospitals, clinics and nonprofits. The Nashville Community Health + Well-being Survey coincides with the CHA and will provide important information, which will help the community understand and prioritize issues that must be addressed to improve the community’s health. The CHA will inform Nashville’s Community Health Improvement Plan, which will serve as Davidson County’s strategic plan for improving health and well-being.

“Just as a doctor needs to know vital signs, we need to take the temperature on Nashville’s health every so often,” said Bill Paul, M.D., director of MPHD. “Ninety percent of health happens outside of hospitals and doctor’s offices, and the Nashville Community Health + Well-being Survey is an essential tool for us to size up the key elements of good health in our population.”

Involvement and support from a number of stakeholders contributed to the survey development. In addition, the following organizations are providing funding for the survey: Amerigroup, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, HCA, LifePoint Health, The Memorial Foundation, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, NashvilleHealth, Nashville Health Care Council, Tivity Health, UnitedHealthcare, AMSURG, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Change Healthcare, The Healing Trust, Live Nation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Vector Management.

For more information on the survey, visit healthynashville.org

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About NashvilleHealth

NashvilleHealth is dedicated to making Nashville-Davidson County one of the healthiest places to live in the state and the nation by achieving measurable gains in the health of all residents. Our goal is to create a culture of health and well-being by serving as a convener to open dialogue, aligning resources and building smart strategic partnerships to move the needle on health outcomes and close the gap in health disparities. To achieve this, we work to collaboratively identify major population health challenges, propose transformative solutions and facilitate and ensure execution to improve overall health. For more information, visit nashvillehealth.org.

About Metro Public Health Department

The mission of the Metro Public Health Department (MPHD) is to protect, improve and sustain health and well-being for all people in Metropolitan Nashville. As Nashville’s Local Health Department, we provide and connect people to essential public health services, we enforce health regulations and we lead and support collaborative efforts to create healthy conditions for everyone in Nashville. For more information, visit health.nashville.gov.

MPHD supports the Healthy Nashville Leadership Council and community partners in conducting Nashville’s Community Health Assessment and creating and implementing Nashville’s strategic plan for improving population health—the Community Health Improvement Plan. For more information, visit healthynashville.org