A Community Health Care Needs Assessment Considering Industry and Occupation

In response to the Affordable Care Act, hospitals are conducting community needs assessments.  Designed to determine the health care needs of the surrounding community, the University of Illinois Survey on Neighborhood Health (UNISON) is a door-to-door survey of 1400 households on the West, Near North, and South sides of Chicago.  In addition to usual survey items, it added variables related to employment status, industry, and occupation. A descriptive and multivariable analysis relating workplace items to demographics, general health, prevalence of health conditions, quality of life, health-related behaviors, household and neighborhood assets, knowledge of the ACA, and health care access and utilization demonstrate the value and type of information that is possible to obtain when "work" is considered. The findings support a policy initiative to include Industry and Occupation in the Electronic Health Record.