The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency Monday published two reports showing the progress made and work still needed to reduce health inequalities in the region and improve the quality of life for San Diegans.
The first report — the Community Health Assessment — includes morbidity, demographic and health data of residents and communities in the region. The data was used to develop the strategic framework of the second report — the Community Health Improvement Plan.
The two documents, as well as Public Health Services' Strategic Plan, are a requirement for national, voluntary public health accreditation.
"These plans are reflections of the leadership and dedication of our communities to the lives of our fellow San Diegans," said Nick Macchione, director of the HHSA. "These regional plans will continue to be living documents that evolve to reflect future strategies within each region to create safe, healthy and thriving communities."
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In the Community Health Improvement Plan, regional community leadership teams produced "enrichment plans," many of them already underway, that lay out priorities to help each region address the most important issues in their communities.
Some of the subjects of the plans include:
— improving access to quality care;
— increasing physical activity and support healthy eating;
— stopping tobacco, alcohol and other drug use;
— protecting residents from crime and abuse and increasing neighborhood safety;
— creating communities that are resilient in disasters and emergencies;
— improving built and natural environment; and
— increasing prosperity and improving education levels and the economy.
"The CHA documents the local health status and priorities for improvement in San Diego County," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer.
"The CHIP explains the community planning process to address regional priorities, with attention to health equity," she said. "It describes the important role that the leadership teams play in driving action on the ground. The CHIP also captures how collective impact is to be measured and describes the foundational infrastructure that supports success."
Both reports will also be used to help the county HHSA retain its accreditation status from the national Public Health Accreditation Board, which it first received in May 2016.
