In support of the Community Health Council and Together! Healthy Knox, KCHD will launch the Health and Quality of Life Survey at Mardi Growl tomorrow. Conducted online and at various community events through May, the survey is part of a yearlong assessment process that includes phone interviews, focus groups, key informant interviews and other means of data collection. The process is designed to yield a wide range of information including opinions about access to affordable food, health education information, physical activity and mental health services as well as views about the most important health issues in Knox County, the quality of the environment and safety.

The information generated from the assessments is used by nonprofit organizations, hospitals, schools, medical providers and others to evaluate and develop programs. It is also used to inform the ongoing development of a community health improvement plan. The model for the assessments and the process itself is considered a best practice and was created by the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

KCHD will compile existing health data with information gathered throughout the year to create two reports: the Community Themes and Strengths Assessment and the Community Health Status Assessment. Both will be released in 2015. The Community Health Council, the governing body for Together! Healthy Knox, will complete two additional assessments in the coming year. The four assessments combined provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors that affect our public health system and health of our community.

These assessments are administered every five years. The first round was conducted in 2009 with reporting done in 2010. The previous reports are available online at www.healthyknox.org.

For more information contact Katharine Killen at 865-215-5534 (office) or 865-755-1121 (cell).