Ottawa County: Response lackluster to health assessment survey

The Ottawa County Health Department has identified a few demographical groups that are not well represented in the responses to the department’s Community Health Assessment.
Joshua Niese, director of health education and accreditation for the health department, said responses have been lower in the western edge of the county and the Lake Erie islands.
“We have a lot of responses from the Port Clinton, Oak Harbor and Lakeside/Marblehead zip codes, but when it comes to responses from the Genoa, Elmore, and Curtice/Williston and Put-in-Bay Islands we are really lacking,” he said.
He reached out to the Genoa Area Chamber of Commerce for assistance in getting a higher response from those communities.
Males are also under represented in the responses, he said, with female responses outpacing those of males by 2 to 1 and residents between the ages of 18 and 24 haven’t been responding to the assessment survey.
“This age group is severely under represented within our community data. We understand this is an age where a Community Health Assessment Survey may not even be on their radar,” Niese said.
He said the survey takes about 10 minutes to complete.
The survey asks respondents to state by zip code where they live and work as well as what their level of education is and their employment status.
Respondents are also asked to identify their top five concerns from a list that includes access to child care, air and water quality, crime/violence, disease, mental health and others.
The survey also asks for respondents to describe what health insurance coverage they have and when was the last time they went to a doctor for a checkup when they weren’t ill.
“If you do want to get healthier and in better shape; what, if anything, is holding you back?” is another question on the survey.
The survey can be accessed at the health department website or at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/S3XKY8Y9.