Community Health Improvement Plan approved, See the health priorities shaping Mesa County’s future

The Mesa County Board of Public Health recently approved the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) at their regular March meeting. The CHIP follows the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and identifies specific priorities for action and progress over the next few years. 

“The CHIP is step two in a three-year cycle of improving our community’s health,” said Alli Howe, Chief Health Strategist. “The first step was to assess the health status of Mesa County and now we’ve identified priority issues with related activities to improve health outcomes. The final step of the health improvement cycle is to implement plans and track progress.”

From the eight priorities identified in the CHNA, public health staff collaborated with community members and partners to determine the most pressing needs. Staff analyzed nearly 400 individual contributions in the selection process for the priorities. This included community engagement, input from partners, and feedback from Mesa County Public Health (MCPH) staff. The priorities are Economic Stability and Behavioral Health.

Economic Stability in Mesa County

Household economic stability is an important factor for health outcomes because healthy behaviors depend on adequate financial resources to meet basic needs, access health care and nutritious foods, and ensure safe and healthy environments. In addition, many health outcomes improve as income and household economic stability increase.

While many people enjoy financial stability in Mesa County, others struggle to reach economic self-sufficiency. The median household income for female single parents is less than half of what is required for economic stability for a mother with a preschooler and school-aged child.

Behavioral Health in Mesa County

Behavioral health impacts physical health in a cyclical way. Behavioral health is impacted by health behaviors, but it can also impact a person’s ability to pursue healthy choices. In addition, behavioral health challenges can lead to direct health outcomes such as substance use disorder and suicide crisis.

According to the 2022 Tell Us Community Survey, Mesa County residents, regardless of age or income, were overwhelmingly in favor of increasing support for mental health and substance abuse services. Only 13% of residents agreed that Mesa County provides adequate support for these services and 50% completely disagreed.

Moving forward

The MCPH Data Team is developing a public-facing dashboard. The community will see long-term population metrics, as well the progress of CHIP activities. “Having a public-facing dashboard for our CHIP work will drive accountability into action,” said Alice Ireland, Data and Informatics Manager. “The CHIP is a reflection of what our community finds important and data transparency is important when it comes to tracking progress.”

Visit our website to explore the CHIP.