Oregon State Health Priorities Survey
What are YOUR concerns?
The Ashland Climate Collaborative Seeks Community Input
Thank you for contributing to this survey. We have been awarded a state grant and your answers will inform Oregon health officials about what health priorities matter to you the most. It takes about 3 minutes to complete this survey. No names or email addresses will be shared with other organizations or the state. We will issue a community report when the survey closes. Contact us at info@ashlandclimate.org with questions or concerns.
Proposed Priorities
Below are seven priorities. After reading them, please rank your top three priorities or add your own. Proposed priorities include:
Healthy environments
To reduce threats to human health from exposure to environmental and climate change hazards where people live, work, play, and learn.
Examples:
- Reduce exposure to poor indoor and outdoor air quality.
- Safe drinking water.
- Clean recreational waters.
- Tobacco-free air.
- Homes free of environmental hazards (extreme heat, cold, lead, smoke).
- Prevent heat and wildfire smoke-related illnesses, hospitalizations, or deaths.
- Safe food handling.
Emergency preparedness and response
State, local, and community organizations work together to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies.
Examples:
- State, local, and community organizations support community planning and collaboration before public health emergencies happen.
- Public health emergency response systems are locally and culturally relevant and have resources to respond to the varied needs of diverse communities.
- Communication systems effectively include all community members.
Health across the lifespan
People have different health and prevention needs that change with things like age, life circumstances, and environment. This priority supports these needs with policies and programs that keep people healthy and prevent illness.
Examples:
- People have a sense of belonging or connection.
- Injury prevention (firearms safety).
- Policies and programs promote and improve health for people for their entire lifespan
- Access to culturally relevant foods for Women, Infants, and Children on WIC.
- Cancer screenings (cervical, mammograms, colorectal)
- Access to routine immunizations/vaccines.
- Fall prevention for older adults.
- Access to preventive health care through school-based health centers.
- Access to reproductive health services, prenatal and postpartum care.
- Traditional Health worker/Community Health Worker/Home Visitation/Peer model of care.
- Dental visits and screening.
Disease prevention and health promotion
Prevention of chronic, acute, and communicable diseases is the foundation of public health work.
Examples:
- People can access health care and services by working with people who have deep ties to the community and lived experience.
- Culturally tailored and specific disease prevention and interventions.
- Drug prevention (Tobacco, alcohol, and others).
- Access to immunizations/vaccines.
- Foodborne illness prevention and investigation.
- STI testing and treatment.
- Communities are designed to meet the needs of their residents (affordable housing, access to food, clean air and water.)
Physical, mental, and community safety
Everyone deserves safety and to be treated with dignity. Public health plays a key role in preventing, addressing, and tracking violence and abuse.
Examples:
- Nice parks and clean, safe spaces.
- Community programs to prevent abuse, and to support those who have experienced abuse/trauma in culturally appropriate ways.
- Institutions and systems that remove unfair treatment and treat everyone with respect.
- Youth and children can access safe spaces or people outside school hours.
- Prevention and intervention in adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
Mental well-being and behavioral health
People in Oregon deserve mental and behavioral health care delivered in culturally and linguistically appropriate ways. Public Health helps improve mental and behavioral health by creating policies and practices that can affect many people. It focuses on preventing problems and finding solutions that help the whole community.
Examples:
- Mental and behavioral health available at school-based health centers.
- Home visits for households with pregnant people, infants, and young children.
- Community-specific engagement and education supporting programs on injury and violence prevention.
- Suicide prevention.
- Substance use prevention, harm reduction, excessive alcohol use.
- Overdose prevention.
Equitable social conditions
Equitable social conditions are the things in the places where people live and work that affect their health and well-being. While we can’t control all of these factors in public health, it’s important to recognize them and try to include them in our work whenever we can.
Examples:
- Children and youth have the support needed to regularly attend school.
- Playgrounds support all children playing.
- There is access to health insurance.
- Language access is available.
- People’s incomes and surroundings play a large role in health outcomes. When a large share of income goes toward the rent or mortgage, it is often harder to afford healthy food— and might mean there isn’t money for fixing leaks or drafts that create damp conditions and can add to breathing problems.
- Ensure all neighborhoods have access to fresh, nutritious foods and programs that make healthy food affordable.