Health partners present 2024 Chatham County Community Health Assessment; highlight access, youth activity and substance-use gaps

Chatham County public-health staff and the Chatham Health Alliance on July 21 presented the 2024 Chatham County Community Health Assessment, describing key findings, priority areas and next steps for dissemination and collaborative action.

The assessment was produced through a partnership among the Chatham County Public Health Department, the Chatham Health Alliance and University of North Carolina Chatham Hospital and combines survey data, focus groups and secondary data (including the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and American Community Survey). Presenters said the assessment informed a Community Strategic Plan and bimonthly action meetings that will guide Alliance work.

The Alliance identified three health-impact priorities it intends to address with coalition resources: health-care access; activities for youth and young adults; and substance‑use treatment and support. Presenters said prioritization also considered the Alliance’s ability to influence systems and environment-level change.

Key data highlighted in the presentation included: median monthly housing costs rose about 9.4% from $983 in 2020 to $1,076 in 2022; 12.6% of county residents were food insecure; 1 in 12 adults reported not having a regular health-care provider; 12% of youth were classified as “opportunity youth” (neither in school nor employed); about 67% of people who sought help for drug use reported difficulty finding services that were available, easy to find, quality or affordable; 26.4% of adults reported a previous diagnosis of depression or anxiety (higher rates reported among Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino adults); and 40.5% of Chatham high‑school students reported prolonged feelings of sadness or hopelessness (highest among Black female students). Presenters said overdose deaths in Chatham County have declined since 2021 and emergency-room visits for overdose are below the state average.

Environmental and infrastructure findings included that 21% of tested private wells exceeded the maximum contaminant level for iron and 33% exceeded the level for manganese (based on 1,544 and 1,539 tested wells respectively, per North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services data). The county also recorded a 30% increase in heat-related emergency visits in 2024 compared with 2021.

The Alliance described several strategies already underway: for youth activities, developing a marketing and communications plan, creating shared-use agreements to increase youth gathering spaces and increasing youth representation on advisory boards; for health‑care access, establishing a systems navigator network and a health-provider leadership collaborative and advancing mobile‑health services; for substance‑use treatment and support, building a referral process, a countywide communications plan, more community spaces and advocacy for recovery housing. The Alliance has compiled a behavioral-health/substance‑use provider list and added a question to the county’s opioid-settlement funding application asking providers how they advertise available treatment openings.

Presenters said a full report booklet was available for county partners and a condensed public booklet would be released in August; the report will also be summarized in community presentations, social-media graphics and short videos and posted at chathamcountync.gov/healthreports.

Ending: Presenters invited county leadership and commissioners to join Alliance meetings and asked for continued partnership and support for systems-level strategies such as mobile health events, communications and targeted funding to reach populations experiencing disparities.