In 1998-99, The National Association of County and City Health Official's (NACCHO) Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE-EH) was used by the Delaware City-County Health Department to establish environmental priorities for action. Collaboratively driven by a committee of community leaders, the Delaware project used focus groups, self-administered mail and computer surveys, telephone interviews, and informal caucuses to obtain public opinion concerning Delaware County's most pressing environmental issues. Complimenting the community's priorities were environmental health data collected by Health Department staff with measurable indicators being developed for each issue. A numerical matrix was used to rank each issue, factoring in weighted community environmental values. Based upon this ranking, the need for more green space/parks was the number one issue. Association was shown between community perception and opinion about their environment and the scientific rankings of environmental risks. Using criteria such as political realities and public demand, the issues were prioritized for action. Action committees of community and staff representatives were established to address the environmental concerns of surface water pollution, trash and litter, environmental education, and green space issues. One outcome resulted in the securing of a one million-dollar tax levy to develop parks and green space. The authors suggest that communities will benefit from using the PACE-EH methodology for identifying and resolving environmental health problems.
Learning Objectives: The objective of this presentation is to describe the methods and results of a community environmental health assessment of Delaware County, Ohio, using The National Association of County and City Health Official's (NACCHO) Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE-EH). Topics of discussion will be community survey methods, construction of an issue list, indicator development, data collection and analysis, ranking and prioritizing issues to action. At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to: 1)articulate the steps described in the PACE-EH document; 2)describe the community survey methods used for the assessment; 3)articulate the value of focus groups; 4)recognize and articulate the difficulty managing qualitative data; 5)discuss the value of coalition building and community partnerships; 6)recognize and manage stakeholder interests; 7)describe the process of ranking environmental issues and developing measurable indicators; 8)recognize the strengths and limitations of data; 9)develop community environmental priorities based upon science and opinion; 10)adjust environmental health programs at local health departments based upon findings of the assessment
Keywords: Community Health Assessment,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: NACCHO's PACE-EH document
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Served as one of ten pilot sites testing the document.