County Health Department Preparing To Distribute Community Health Assessment Survey
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Allegheny County Health Department is working with several community groups and organizations to spread the word about the Community Health Assessment Survey.
"The idea is to have folks think about where they currently live, their neighborhood, their municipality and then answer a series of questions about what they think are the strengths there or the things that could be improved and a variety of questions of that nature," said Dr. Karen Hacker, Executive Director of the Allegheny County Health Department.
Dr. Hacker would not reveal the exact questions on the survey because the final draft is still being drawn up.
The survey itself will be available Wednesday, June 26.
There are 37 questions on the survey.
There will be an online link, a paper version in four languages and many of the forms will be handed out in the community at various events like health clinics and farmers markets.
Penny Holden of Fox Chapel says she would fill out the form.
"If you don't know the answers to the questions how do you fix it," she said.
The survey will be done anonymously and Dr. Hacker says it is designed to give more of a public health perspective.
"Questions about barriers to health care, questions about what they think about the environment, what they think about behavioral problems in their communities, such as smoking or poor eating habits," Dr. Hacker said.
Also, without being specific, questions about transportation, perhaps one about a bus stop and where it is located.
Vernon Anderson of Baldwin is anxious to answer that one.
"I think the bus stops are too close to the highway, nothing blocking them off, nothing the cars and they are doing 40 to 50 miles per hour," he said.
The Community Health Assessment Survey is done every five years, out of the 130 municipalities in the county, only one thousand people took part in the survey then, the health department is hoping for a greater number this time around.
