Friday, June 28, 2019

Public Health Seeks Community Input to Improve Services

Where do you enjoy physical recreation and what activities would you like to be more available? What is the biggest health problem in your community? Do you experience barriers to preventative services? Where do you get fresh fruits and vegetables? Do you have child care issues? A new community health survey seeks public input to these questions and more.

“The input we receive from this survey will provide us with a snapshot of community health and help us identify areas that are working as well as those that may need further improvement. With this information we can concentrate our focus and optimize our efforts,” stated Dennis Levinson, Atlantic County Executive.

Residents can easily participate by completing the survey online, In English or Spanish, at www.aclink.org/publichealth. Surveys will also be available in all nine branches of the Atlantic County Library System and approximately 3,000 randomly selected county residents will receive the survey in the mail during the next few weeks.

"The survey is completely anonymous with no personal identifying questions," explained Atlantic County Public Health Officer Patricia Diamond. "Our goal is to determine the health needs of our residents and provide services to meet them. We are particularly interested in improving the overall health of at-risk populations within the county."

The survey serves as a follow-up to a previous study conducted as part of the Community Health Improvement Plan. The current survey was developed as a collaborative effort of the Atlantic County Division of Public Health and Division of Intergenerational Services, Shore Medical Center, AtlantiCare, Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation, Stockton University, Atlantic Cape Community College, Volunteers in Medicine, Municipal Alliances, Rutgers University, Southern Jersey Perinatal Co-op, Southern Jersey Family Medical Center, and the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition,

The survey consists of 35 questions, including lifestyle choices regarding nutrition, physical activity and substance abuse and should take no longer than 15-20 minutes to complete. All surveys must be returned/submitted by August 30, 2019.

Diamond hopes to have the results early next year.

For more information, contact the Division of Public Health at (609) 645-5853.

County News