(Spirit Lake)– Results are in from a recently completed public health assessment in Dickinson county. The survey of health-related issues in the county is conducted every three years. Katy Carey of Dickinson County Public Health says over 500 people responded to the survey. She says four major areas of focus were identified, with healthy living among them. More specifically, obesity…
“Nationally two in five adults and one in five children are considered to be overweight. And so when you look at that, it’s 34 percent of adolescents in Iowa and then 37 percent of Dickinson county residents are obese.”
Another area of concern identified in the assessment is cancer and reducing risk factors…
“Whether it’s testing your home for radon, or increasing access to sunscreen, to thinking about decreased tobacco and alcohol consumption. These are all things. And then improving nutrition and movement. So we see there’s a lot of connections between the four that were there because if you’re improving your movement and nutrition, you’re reducing your cancer risk. You’re also connecting to that healthy living focus area.”
Aging well is another area of concern…
“As it turns out Dickinson county has the oldest population in the state. And so we’re a great place to retire and so we’re looking at what does senior living mean? What is aging well mean, because that covers four decades of life. Does that mean more pickleball for some people or does that mean more access to healthy and affordable housing? So we’ll be working with different groups like Elderbridge on that piece.”
Carey says the fourth area of concern identified in the assessment is mental and behavioral health…
“The Move For Mental Health Walk will be August 23rd so you can still sign up. That is a great way to get out there to get active, get moving, and again, that cross section of living well and also having mental health as a big part of overall wellness. The funds that are raised from that Move For Mental Health Walk will go towards bringing in another national mental health speaker into the schools. So we’re trying to create activities that lead to more healthy activities.”
Carey says from here they’ll work with focus groups in the community to address the concerns in the report and will develop a health improvement plan that will be presented to Lakes Regional Healthcare trustees in October.
The assessment’s findings can be be found at lakeshealth.org.
Carey presented the report at Tuesday’s Dickinson County Board of Supervisors meeting.
