Following more than a year of strategic data collection and analysis, the Together! Healthy Knox Partnership (T!HK) held a special meeting of community leaders on May 19, 2011 to announce what the group has identified as Knox County’s most pressing health issues. More than 100 people gathered at the East Tennessee History Center to learn how their respective organizations can take action to improve health in Knox County.
- Health Issue 1: How can we create a sustainable network of partnerships that effectively contributes to improved community health?
The collected data indicated deficiencies in communication and resource coordination between agencies and parts of the public health system in Knox County. Last December, more than 70 local leaders and representatives with a stake in health gathered to assess the local public health system (which is different than the public health department) and gave Knox County low scores in linking people to health services, evaluating those services, and mobilizing the partnerships necessary for effective health services.
- Health Issue 2: How can we achieve equitable health outcomes for all our community members?
This strategic issue has implications in all areas of public and private health in Knox County. For example, infant mortality rates for African Americans in Knox County are more than twice as high as those for whites. Physical activity levels are significantly higher for college graduates than for those who are less educated; in fact, more than 42 percent of those without a high school diploma report no physical activity at all, compared to 13 percent of college graduates. Access to fresh foods is another factor in Knox County’s unequal health outcomes: the cost of a cart of groceries is 20 dollars higher in Central City, which has the lowest mean family income of any neighborhood in the county, than in Southwest County, which has the highest mean income.
Health Issue 3: How can we position health as a consideration in community policy and planning decisions?
During the December assessment, Knox County received low scores in the development and review of public health policies. When asked what forces will shape Knox County’s health most powerfully in the near future, respondents indicated that an increased understanding and recognition of connections between health outcomes and environment, policy and systems change will be very important.
*Together! Healthy Knox uses Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP), a model developed by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), for a planned approach to improve health and quality of life.
 
last updated on May 23, 2011 |
