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Board of Health launches community health assessment rollout, tasks subcommittees for outreach
Summary
Thurston County staff and subcommittees described a community health assessment (CHA) rollout tied to back-to-school immunization clinics and outreach events; subcommittees will staff events, use tablets to collect surveys and target underrepresented groups, with incentives like portable chargers.
Thurston County Public Health and Social Services told the Board of Health on Aug. 12 that it will roll out a community health assessment (CHA) at upcoming public events and clinics to gather resident input to guide future programs.
Staff said the CHA builds on hospital CHNA work and will include a short eight-question survey designed to be completed in five minutes. The assessment will be available at multiple events beginning the next day, and staff said the survey will remain open for several months to allow the epidemiology team to monitor respondent demographics and deploy targeted outreach if any groups are underrepresented.
The education and outreach subcommittee (speaker 5) said board members are invited to help administer surveys at events but cautioned about creating a quorum; the subcommittee described small tangible incentives to encourage participation, citing examples staff asked the public about such as water bottles and portable chargers. Staff also confirmed outreach plans with the Office of Housing and Homeless Prevention for engagement with houseless populations and said translation services will be used where appropriate.
Board members discussed how to ensure adequate outreach to Peninsula and rural communities and whether the CHA should have an explicit close date; staff said they intend to keep the survey open without a set close date and to augment targeted strategies after three months if demographic gaps emerge. The board encouraged members to share the survey broadly through their networks.
