Community Health Assessment is the foundation for enhancing and improving the health of county residents. Community is defined as “county” for the North Carolina Community Health Assessment Process. The CHA’s mission is to identify factors affecting the health of a community and establish the availability of resources within the county to appropriately address these problems.
The first phase in the community health planning process is the Community Health Assessment. In this framework, the assessment process starts with the people who live in the community and continues their involvement through the implementation of strategies developed for addressing these problems. This way, the community health assessment is done by the community rather than on the community.
Conducting a comprehensive Community Health Assessment is a requirement included in the consolidated agreement between the North Carolina Division of Public Health and local health departments. Furthermore, it is required for local health department accreditation through the N.C. Local Health Department Accreditation Board. The Division of Public Health oversees the Community Health Assessment process for the state.
In North Carolina, a CHA is conducted in each county at least every four years. The Columbus County Community Health Assessment has an expected completion date of March 2024.
All residents of Columbus County ages 18 and over are eligible to complete the survey. To complete the assessment, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WZC68QK.
