Our team is currently reviewing data and conducting focus groups. We will post results as soon as they are available. Thank you for your participation.
This is part of Appleton Health Department’s Community Health Assessment.
What is a Community Health Assessment? Every few years, local health departments are statutorily required to conduct a Community Health Assessment to better understand the assets and needs of their community. A Community Health Assessment (CHA) is a comprehensive evaluation of the health status and needs of a specific community. It involves gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data related to various aspects of health, including demographics, health behaviors, access to healthcare services, environmental factors, and social determinants of health.
The primary goal of a CHA is to identify the health priorities, strengths, and challenges within the community, in order to inform decision-making processes, resource allocation, and interventions aimed at improving health outcomes and promoting equity.
Who does the CHA involve?
Our CHA involves collaboration among multiple stakeholders, including community organizations, healthcare providers, policymakers, and residents, to ensure that the assessment reflects the diverse perspectives and needs of the community.
Why did we make this survey?
This survey provides us with responses to Appleton-specific questions. The selection and wording of questions were created in collaboration by the Appleton Community Health Steering Committee.
While individual choices are important, your health also depends on a number of community factors like nutrition, public safety, education, affordable housing, transportation, and air quality. We want to learn more about the health of all who live and work in Appleton.
Additional data will be collected from the following sources:
- Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System (YRBS)
- AARP’s Appleton Age Friendly Survey
- US Census
- Focus groups and listening sessions
- many more!
Appleton Community Health Steering Committee Members
- Kayla McNamara, Boys & Girls Club Fox Valley
- Wendy Krueger, United Way Fox Cities
- Megan Zimmerman, NAMI Fox Valley
- Pa Khang. Hmong American Partnership
- Beth Clay, NEW Mental Health Connection
- Laura Jackson, Appleton Area School District
- Dr. Kenny Yarborough, Lawrence University
- Breanna Mekuly, City of Appleton Health Department
- Dr. Chuck Sepers, City of Appleton Health Department
- Jena McNiel, City of Appleton Health Department
Facts & Questions
Q: On many of the questions, there is no “neutral” or “N/A” response option. What should I do?
A: None of the questions have a forced response, so it is possible to advance without selecting an answer. However, we STRONGLY encourage that people answer to the best of their knowledge, vs leaving an item blank. Forcing a positive or negative response is grounded in evidence-based psychometric survey design. If that’s not the case, please know you can skip any question and continue with the rest of the survey.
Q: Why are the questions on this survey subjective or asking for people’s opinions?
A: The purpose of this survey is to answer what people value and what people are experiencing in Appleton. There are many data sources that provide objective information about the city such as: Census Data, Healthcare data, Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, Environmental Public Health Tracking (looking at geography and health), and more. The goal of this survey is to take these two different types of data and see if themes are the same with each or are they different. It may identify areas where more data should be collected, concerns that should be addressed, and/or topics the community really values. In addition, in the future focus groups will be planned for continued conversation.