We all try to be better. Stronger, smarter, richer, healthier. How do you choose which areas of your life to focus on? What’s your greatest need?
Health organizations on Long Island, like hospitals, health centers, and tons of community-based organizations, ask themselves the same question about the people they work with. What is our community’s greatest need?
How can you help your community?
They're asking - and they need your answer!
The Long Island and Eastern Queens Community Health Assessment Survey helps health and wellness organizations on Long Island answer that question. This 5-minute survey is designed to collect your opinion on what health issues are important in your community. The results tell county departments of health, hospitals, and local organizations working right in your town, how best to help you, your family, and your neighbors.
Organizations across the island are already using results of this survey to make decisions about health programs being offered near you. Since 2013, members of the Long Island Health Collaborative have been circulating the Community Health Assessment Survey, and the results just keep coming in.
In 2016 we collected over 7,000 surveys.
When asked “What are the biggest ongoing health concerns in the community where you live?” respondents said this,
In both Nassau and Suffolk Counties, cancer, drug & alcohol abuse, and obesity/weight loss were the top three concerns of citizens, though in different orders.
When the same people were asked, “What the biggest ongoing health concerns for yourself are?”
the results lined up again. Long Islanders are concerned with heart disease, cancer, obesity, and women’s health & wellness.
And in Nassau and Suffolk, survey participants said that the biggest barriers people face when receiving medical treatment were the following,
Lack of insurance, inability to pay for care, and fear, are what people think keeps others from seeking healthcare.
Do you agree? Share your opinions here and tell us how you would improve the overall wellness of Long Island.
Looking for the how-to? Find our methodology here.
You can also see how organizations have already used this valuable data, in writing plans to move forward with health improvement programs where you live.
Find your local hospital’s Community Health Needs Assessments.