The Kanawha Coalition for Community Health Improvement along with community agencies conducted its fourth community health assessment in the fall of 2006. The survey covered a wide variety of health care topics and was designed to determine the community’s perception of health care needs and concerns, and to provide some indication of actual health-related behaviors. The survey also addressed a number of social and economic concerns.
The Kanawha Coalition’s comprehensive community health assessment is comprised of four components:
- Telephone survey among randomly selected Kanawha County households
- Paper/electronic surveys among Kanawha County key informants
- Data analysis (survey results and existing health statistics
- Community Health Issues Forum
This report is divided into categories including; Community Life; Access to Health Care; Dental Care; Tobacco; Physical Activity; Safety; and Key Health Statistics. Under each category are the community perceptions based on the results of the telephone survey, comments from key informants, and related health statistics for Kanawha County as compared to State and National data.
This report was prepared for release during the 2007 Community Health Issues Forum at which community members are to decide the top health issues around which the Kanawha Coalition will focus its efforts over the next three years.
Methodology
Phone Survey
An independent sampling firm randomly selected Kanawha County resident phone numbers that were used in conducting the telephone survey. The surveys were conducted using appropriate quality controls which included involving epidemiologists in the design of the survey instrument, thorough and consistent training of interviewers, and the use of reputable survey-analysis software. The principal investigator provided oversight to the surveying process including data collection and entry. This assessment marked the first use of scannable survey forms. The Coalition decided to use this technology to expedite the entry of survey responses and to ensure the accuracy of data input. The computer software used also allows for cross-tabulations of data at a level not previously available. This report was compiled and verified for accuracy by members of the Kanawha Coalition for Community Health Improvement. This survey sample size results in a statistically significant 95% confidence interval with an error of margin of plus or minus 6.53%.
As with any telephone survey, there are certain limitations. The result of the survey depends on the accuracy of the responses given by the persons interviewed. Self-reported behavior must be interpreted with caution. To assure proper sampling distribution, the demographics of the survey respondents were compared to county demographics. Survey results were found to closely correlate with census data in the areas of income, education, employment and types of households (i.e. number of adults & children in household). There was an overrepresentation of female residents and those who are age 65 or older. According to local research expert, Don Richardson of Richardson Associates, this is typical when conducting telephone surveys. The Kanawha Coalition has found this to be consistent over the years, with more females responding to all its previous telephone surveys (1995, 1998, 2002-03). There was also an under-representation of African American respondents to the 2006 survey. It should be noted that during the 2006 survey, respondents were read a longer list of categories of races / ethnicities to choose from than during previous surveys. This change was made so the Kanawha Coalition’s local survey would more closely parallel the categories used by the United States Census Bureau. Three percent of those responding to the 2006 survey declared themselves a race “other” than African-American or white, an increase over previous years.
Key Informant Survey
Another component of this comprehensive community health assessment is perceptions of community and business leaders about the county’s most important health problems and the quality and quantity of health care available in Kanawha County. Approximately 100 community leaders were asked to complete a four-part survey. Forty-three surveys were returned (43%). Of the 43 respondents, eight (8) were from the business community; eleven (11) from health care (including hospitals, free clinic, emergency medical services and the county health department), ten (10) from health and social service agencies, six (6) from government (mayors, county commissioner, state legislator), two (2) from education (higher education and public school system), two (2) from faith communities, one (1) mental health provider, one (1) community foundation, and two (2) individual community leaders. Their responses were compiled and can be found throughout this report.
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