Guilford County Healthy Carolinians (GCHC) is a partnership of community organizations and individuals working together to create a healthier Guilford County through community health assessment and collaboration.  GCHC is part of Healthy Carolinians, a statewide network of partnerships that address health and safety issues at the community level.  Healthy Carolinians partnerships work toward achieving health goals inspired by the national Healthy People 2020 objectives and Healthy NC 2020 objectives.  Click here for more information on Healthy People 2010/2020 or Healthy NC 2020.

Community Health Assessment Efforts
According to the Institute of Medicine, one of the core functions of public health is “assessment.”  Community health assessment as a “process by which community members gain an understanding of the health, concerns, and health care systems of the community by identifying, collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information on community assets, strengths, resources, and needs” (NC Division of Public Health, http://publichealth.nc.gov/lhd/cha/index.htm).  This assessment process provides a way to identify pressing health concerns and develop community action plans to address these concerns.

GCHC and Guilford County Department of Public Health’s Health Analysis and Surveillance Unit carry out this function by conducting a comprehensive community health assessment (CHA) in collaboration with community partners every three or four years.  During the off-years when the comprehensive CHA is not being conducted, GCHC and the Health Surveillance Unit produce an abridged review of current health data and trends, which is published as the State of the County Report.

2012-2013 Guilford County Community Health Assessment
The Guilford County Department of Public Health is currently partnering with Cone Health, Cone Health Foundation, High Point Regional Health System and UNC Greensboro’s Center for Social, Community and Health Research and Evaluation to conduct the Guilford County 2012-13 Community Health Assessment (CHA).  For more information, click here.

2011-2012 Guilford County Youth Risk Behavior Survey
To measure the health Guilford County middle and high school youth, Guilford County Department of Public Health’s Guilford County Healthy Carolinians partnered with Guilford Education Alliance, UNC Greensboro’s Department of Public Health Education and Health & Human Sciences Office of Research and Guilford County Schools to administer the Youth Risk Behavior Survey to a representative sample of Guilford County School students in 2011 and report these results.  For more information about the 2011-2012 Youth Risk Behavior Survey results, click here.

2012 State of Guilford County’s Health Report
The Guilford County’s Health Report for 2012 provides a quick way for community members, leaders and others to see how Guilford County measures up on leading health indicators. The information found in our State of the County’s Health Report also highlights Guilford County’s health ranking as published by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Overall, Guilford County ranks 9th in our state for 2012; an improvement in our rankings of 10th in 2010 and 2011.

Click here to view the State of Guilford County’s Health Report 2012.

2011 State of Guilford County’s Health Report
The Guilford County’s Health Report for 2011 provides a snapshot to community members, leaders, organizations and others of how Guilford County measures up on leading health indicators and highlights demographic and socioeconomic trends with data from the 2010 Decennial Census.  It also draws attention to the emerging issue of poor access to healthy food in low income neighborhoods and communities in Greensboro and High Point. The Health Surveillance and Analysis Unit and Guilford County Healthy Carolinians partner to publish this report on years when the Community Health Assessment is not underway.

Click here to view the State of Guilford County’s Health Report 2011.

2010 State of the County’s Health Report
The State of the County’s Health Report provides a snapshot of how Guilford County measures up on leading health indicators. The report also highlights progress on local Healthy Carolinians priorities and plans for action to address those priorities. Click here to view the State of Guilford County’s Health Report 2010. The Health Surveillance and Analysis Unit and Guilford County Healthy Carolinians partner to publish this report on years when the Community Health Assessment is not underway.

For more information on health statistics, click here.

2009 Community Health Assessment
Guilford County Healthy Carolinians and Guilford County Department of Public Health’s Health Analysis and Surveillance Unit led the 2009 Community Health Assessment in collaboration with many community partners.  The 2009 CHA objectives were to identify the most pressing health issues facing the county and develop effective community action plans to address those issues.

One collaborative component of the 2009 Community Health Assessment was the local administration of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.  To measure the health and resilience of our youth, Guilford County Healthy Carolinians partnered with Guilford Education Alliance, Guilford County Schools and Vincent Francisco with the UNCG Department of Public Health Education to administer the Youth Risk Behavior Survey to a representative sample of Guilford County School students in 2008.  For more information about the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and its results, click here.

For more detailed information about the 2009 Community Health Assessment, click here.

For more information about Guilford County’s Healthy Carolinians effort, please contact:

Mark H. Smith, Ph.D.
Epidemiologist
Phone: 336-641-6844
Fax:  336-641-6971
Email:  msmith@co.guilford.nc.us

or

Laura Mrosla, MPH, MSW
Health Educator
Phone: 336-641-6113
Fax: 336-641-6971
Email: lmrosla@co.guilford.nc.us