Frequently Asked Questions

The Community Health Needs Assessment is conducted to examine the health and quality of life of Brunswick County citizens. The process includes gathering information from community residents (primary data), and comparing this data to available health statistics (secondary data) to identify the most pressing concerns. The information gathered is used by county leadership and stakeholders to strategically plan the best use of resources to address top community concerns while tracking progress to reach the overall goal of improving health and quality of life in Brunswick County.

The Public Health Accreditation Board defines community health assessment (CHA), also known as community health needs assessment (CHNA), as a systematic examination of the health status indicators for a given population that is used to identify key problems and assets in a community. The ultimate goal of a community health assessment is to develop strategies to address the community's health needs and identified issues.

CDC defines a community health improvement plan (or CHIP) as a long-term, systematic effort to address public health problems based on the results of community health needs assessment activities and the community health improvement process. A plan is typically updated every three to five years.

The Public Health Accreditation Board (PDF) defines a community health improvement plan as a long-term, systematic effort to address public health problems on the basis of the results of community health assessment activities and the community health improvement process. This plan is used by health and other governmental education and human service agencies, in collaboration with community partners, to set priorities and coordinate and target resources. A community health improvement plan is critical for developing policies and defining actions to target efforts that promote health. It should define the vision for the health of the community through a collaborative process and should address the gamut of strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and opportunities that exist in the community to improve the health status of that community.

A community health assessment gives organizations comprehensive information about the community's current health status, needs, and issues. This information can help develop a community health improvement plan by justifying how and where resources should be allocated to best meet community needs.

Benefits include

• Improved organizational and community coordination and collaboration
• Increased knowledge about public health and the interconnectedness of activities
• Strengthened partnerships within state and local public health systems
• Identified strengths and weaknesses to address in quality improvement efforts
• Baselines on performance to use in preparing for accreditation
• Benchmarks for public health practice improvements

Residents will be asked no more than 50 questions in the community health opinion survey. Questions will fall under six main categories:

• Household Demographics
• COVID-19 Impacts
• Community Health
• Physical Health/Accessing Care
• Social Determinants of Health
• Behavioral Health

All of your individual responses are confidential. We will use results of the surveys to improve our understanding of health needs in the community.

There are five phases the CHNA must go through before it is complete.

• Phase 1: Project Launch
• Phase 2: Secondary Research
• Phase 3: Primary Research (This is the most labor-intensive phase in the project.)
• Phase 4: Data Analysis
• Phase 5: Final Report

The role of the CHNA Steering Committee is to provide guidance through the completion of the Community Health Needs Assessment to ensure that it addresses the needs of residents in Brunswick County.

Residents can attend the meetings either in-person or virtually. If you are interested in participating on the CHNA Steering Committee or attending a meeting, RSVP by contacting Brunswick County Health Educator Rachel Crowder at 910-253-2312.

Health information is collected from Brunswick County residents in three ways: key informant interviews, community health opinion surveys, and focus groups.

Key Informant Interviews

• Strategic Planning Committee
• Community-Based Organizations
• Community Leaders

Community Health Opinion Surveys

• Brunswick County residents
• Surveys in English and Spanish
• Training provided on survey collection for Health Department staff and volunteers

Focus Groups

• 2 in-person focus groups
• 15 participants per group for a total of 30 participants
• 1 in English, 1 in Spanish

Key informant interviews and focus groups provide insight into community health concerns. Involvement of providers, particularly community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and education institutions/civic leaders will occur through the key informant interviews and via input from representatives on the Steering Committee.

We ensure involvement with the hard-to-reach or most marginalized communities in Brunswick County by meeting them where they are at. After engaging with these communities, we develop a high-level action plan with recommendations prioritized through input and the direction of the Steering Committee.