Topic 7 DQ 1 Comment 2
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Three determinants of health used in my practicum setting according to the 2019 community health needs assessment are affordability, alcohol abuse, and mental health (Delta Health, 2019). As an organization, Delta Health completes a community health needs assessment every 3 years and this information is published in local newspapers and available on the organization’s website. The data from the community health needs assessment is obtained and arranged in collaboration with multiple other experts and stakeholders in the community to obtain an accurate overview of the most important needs and overall health of the community. The organization collects data during interaction with patients on both the inpatient and outpatient side which assists with the completion of the community health needs assessment.
The data is used to compare Delta county with counties throughout Colorado and is included in the data of Colorado’s health as a state (Delta Health, 2019). The community health needs assessment is fundamental in implementing strategies targeting health concerns and decreasing disparities. For example, recognizing the needs of the county and comparing the availability and accessibility of mental health providers with more urban counties assists with allocation of resources or pursuit of funding and grants to facilitate additional mental health providers; there are significantly fewer mental health providers in rural counties than in urban areas, a disparity that is detectable only by availability and cross-referencing of data from healthcare organizations across the state (Colorado Rural Health Center, 2018). Obtaining data allows for an essential glimpse into patient populations and grows strategies to decrease costs while improving outcomes because how can public health expect to improve population health unless they identify the needs and healthcare gaps facing those populations (Colorado Rural Health Center, 2018).
