Brett Kelman, Nashville Tennessean
Nashville knows a lot about health care, but for the past two decades, the city hasn’t known enough about it’s own health.
Now, hopefully, that will change.
Nashville officials publicized results and data from a landmark health survey conducted in city over the past year. The Nashville Community Health + Well-being Survey, which gathered data from 1,805 respondents spread throughout Davidson County, is the most detailed study of city health since at least 2000.
The federal government publishes some Nashville health data annually, but it pales in comparison for scope, depth and detail in the new survey.
The survey was a joint effort between the Metro Public Health Department and NashvilleHealth, a nonprofit founded by former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist. Survey results span from common health issues like diabetes and obesity to less-studied topics like vaping, gun ownership and racial discrimination.
But the survey results are just the beginning, Frist said. The results and the underlying data are made public so health researchers, both in Nashville and out, can dive deep into the mysteries of the city’s poor health.
“We, as a city, are much worse off than people think,” Frist said, “and we can’t sustain Nashville the way we are going … We have good healthcare here, but the health and well-being is miserable.”
