SEARHC conducts survey to assess Southeast health needs

The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium is offering people the chance to win Alaska Airlines miles for responding to a community health needs assessment survey.

The survey is aimed at gathering information about the overall well-being of communities and individuals across Southeast.

“Share your thoughts with us on daily living, nutrition, exercise habits and health care access,” the regional health care provider said in its Facebook postings. “The Community Wellness Health Needs Assessment was developed to evaluate the health status, needs, disparities and assets of Southeast Alaska communities.”

The survey, at searhc.org/survey, is 61 questions long and divided into sections that cover demographics, insurance status, medical history, quality of life, chronic conditions, alcohol and tobacco use, food security, diet and physical activity.

No studies or data prompted the assessment, explained Lyndsey Schaefer, marketing and communications director at SEARHC in Juneau. The health care provider is conducting the study to fulfill a grant stipulation to address community health, she said.

This is the first time the consortium has conducted an assessment of such size and reach. Schaefer said SEARHC would use the survey to “better identify each community’s specific needs.”

Data from the survey will help address particular issues and needs with targeted educational and outreach programs and policy changes, she said.

Schaefer indicated the assessment would also be used to “evaluate community awareness and knowledge” of programs SEARHC offers, such as Wisewoman (a heart disease and stroke prevention program) and WIC (the Women, Infants and Children program, a federally funded effort to provide additional nutrition assistance for women and young children).

The Southeast-wide health care provider, with locations from Haines to Metlakatla, is hoping to encourage people to fill out the survey by offering five prizes of 20,000 Alaska Airlines miles each.

The survey will remain open until March 31, and the coalition hopes to analyze the response data to produce a report on community health across Southeast by August.