The Metro Public Health Department and NashvilleHealth are partnering to launch a foundational, community-wide survey of the health of Nashville residents – the Nashville Community Health + Wellbeing Survey. Working with a nationally-recognized research institute using validated methods and questions from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), they will survey more than 11,000 local households to learn about health-related behaviors, chronic health conditions, preventative health practices and how our environment impacts their opportunity for wellbeing.
The last time Nashville undertook a survey project such as this one was in 2000, when Nashville’s population was less than 550,000. Seventeen years and a 23% population increase later, it’s time to once again take a close look at the prevalence rates of behavioral health risks and chronic conditions right here in Nashville.
This survey will provide useful estimates of important health behaviors and factors for Nashville as a whole, as well as significant demographic subgroups. This process coincides with the Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) that area non-profit hospitals must complete for IRS purposes and the community health assessment required for the health department’s accreditation status. It will inform the CHAs and help set Nashville’s strategic priorities for health improvement. And, importantly, it will provide a baseline to track progress over time.
The assessment will be conducted by the Survey Research Lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago. This group has expertise in survey methodology and health behaviors with deep connections to the CDC’s BRFSS. The questionnaire will be administered in both English and Spanish, and respondents will be able to reply via mail or web. The survey is designed to be administered using the most innovative surveying technology followed by data delivery within a defined timeline.
The project is currently underway with the first survey questionnaires expected to be mailed in September. The first round of data is anticipated in fall and final data sets are planned to be delivered by early 2019. Once final, the data will be disseminated in multiple formats including reports, web portal or special request to the health department.
The Metro Public Health Department and NashvilleHealth are seeking partners to join NashvilleHealth in funding this project. However, the opportunity for involvement does not begin and end with financial support. Stakeholders will be invited to participate in a media campaign to publicly promote the survey. Involvement, support and input from as many stakeholders as possible will serve to assist in creating a survey reflective of Nashville’s unique health-related determinants, resulting in data to inform and enhance the work being done today and in the future to improve the health of Nashville residents, and track progress over time.
To learn more about the survey methodology and how the data will be used, visit www.healthynashville.org.