Study, survey point out Black Hawk County health needs

Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (IA)

Mar. 10--WATERLOO -- Black Hawk County residents think they're overweight, drink too much and lack access to mental health care.

But those takeaways just skim the surface of a new community health needs assessment conducted by the county health department and local care providers looking for ways to improve the health of Cedar Valley residents.

"Overall we captured what we already sensed," said public health director Nafissa Cisse Egbuonye, who released the results Monday.

The county Board of Health, Peoples Community Health Clinic, Cedar Valley United Way, MercyOne and UnityPoint Health worked together on the assessment over the past year.

They mined data sets to compare Black Hawk County with other areas of Iowa and the U.S. and surveyed more than 1,600 local residents on their habits and perceptions of the community related to health.

The stakeholders identified poverty, education, health behaviors and mental health and trauma as local priorities based on the assessment. But they are seeking more community input before using the information to develop a plan to address the shortfalls over the next three years.

"It's just looking at what interventions we may need to put in place," Cisse Egbuonye said. "It might be health promotion campaigns. It might be policies we need to implement."

She said the board and care providers are working together on both the assessment and improvement plan.

"We realized that if we don't (work in unison) it could have a more negative impact in terms of how we serve our community," Cisse Egbuonye said. "We have to look at data together. There are strategies and interventions we could do collaboratively."

The group also kept in mind a 2018 article by 24/7 Wall St., an online publication, which said Waterloo-Cedar Falls was the worst place in America to be black. That dubious distinction was based on socio-economic disparities between African Americans and whites, including access to health care.

"We've been very intentional during this process about getting data from marginalized groups," Cisse Egbuonye said.

Surveys were sought through local churches with African-American congregations. The group worked with Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center (EMBARC), to get responses from Burmese, Congolese and Liberian immigrants.

The department is now looking for more community input on the assessment, which can be viewed on the department's website at www.co.black-hawk.ia.us/258/Health-Department. A short survey can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/r/t3hzdn2.

The Board of Health also will hold a public hearing on the assessment during its board meeting at 7:30 a.m. March 25 in room 420 of the Pinecrest Building, 1407 Independence Ave., Waterloo.

The following were among some of the assessment's findings:

* The community felt alcohol and drug use were the top risky behaviors for adults, followed by physical inactivity and using a cell phone while driving.

* The community thought obesity and mental health were top local health problems, followed by diabetes and aging.

* Some 6.6 percent of respondents reported struggling with mental health issues without receiving help.

* African Americans represented three out of every four respondents lacking health insurance.

* Black Hawk County had one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections of any county in the nation.

* The violent crime rate is higher in Black Hawk County than the state average.

Preliminary results of the 2020 Health Needs Assessment:

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