Deliverable 6 - Chronic Diseases and Population Health Management
Community Needs Assessment
Marion County
Marion County Florida
Located in Central Florida with a population of 343, 778.
Marion county is in central Florida.
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Social Determinants
Factors included in this category, generational poverty, widespread homelessness, persistent issue of overweight and obesity, lack of affordable housing, shortage of healthcare and dental care providers, water fluoridation is lacking in most communities, struggling and failing schools, and built environment impedes access to recreation areas and safe places for physical activity.
Addressing social determinants of health is important for improving health and reducing health disparities.
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Marion County Most Utilized Hospitals
| Hospital Name | Number of Discharges |
| Florida Hospital Ocala | 15,739 |
| Ocala Regional Medical Center | 8,940 |
| West Marion Community | 6,532 |
Medical Resources Available
Clinical and nutrition services
Wellness programs
Environmental health
Infectious Disease services
Clinical and nutrition services include - Supplements for women and children, immunizations throughout various locations within the county, dental services, family planning, and centers which treat sexually transmitted diseases.
Wellness programs which include – disease prevention and management such as diabetes. Weight programs, children healthy promotional programs, and health education.
Environmental health which includes - Environmental Health programs are essential to public health. They work to achieve a safe and healthy environment for the community. Environmental Health staff monitor conditions that could present a threat to health and safety of the public.
Infectious Disease services which involves, The Florida Department of Health in Marion County is responsible for the surveillance of reportable communicable diseases, including enteric diseases, vaccine-preventable diseases, invasive bacterial diseases, arthropod-borne diseases, and others. Infectious disease control programs are designed to protect the residents and visitors of Marion County
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Community Needs Assessment
Marion County community needs include, access to primary prevention and healthcare, oral health, mental and behavioral health, education and training.
Primary prevention efforts are focused on preventing illness and injury before it happens. Prevention includes environmental and policy change as well as education, behavior revision and lasting investments in systems that encourage healthy living.
Oral health influences physical, emotional, and social well-being. Poor oral health causes pain and disability. With pain and disability hinders work and school which causes issues with attendance and performance. Oral issues will in turn costs residents, taxpayers and healthcare systems millions of dollars to treat.
Mental and physical health are equally important factors for overall health and quality of life. Mental and behavior health includes emotional, psychological and social well-being and impacts how stress is handled, interpersonal relationships, and healthy decision-making.
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Priority Concerns
Access to Primary Prevention
Oral Health
Mental and Behavioral Health
Access to Primary Prevention and Health Care Services with focus on, Community wellness and Access to primary care.
Oral Health including, Access to oral health services and Expansion of prevention initiatives
Mental and Behavioral Health including, Access to care for mental health conditions and substance abuse treatment services
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Steps to improvement
Promote Community Wellness
Improve Access to Primary Care
Improve Access to Oral Health Services
Improve Oral Health Through Expansion of Prevention Initiatives
Community Wellness
Decrease tobacco access, increase educational opportunities in middle schools, and increase treatment in high schools. Reduce the number of middle school and high school students who used cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, or electronic vapor products.
Increase access to healthy affordable foods within food deserts, increase education on healthy eating options and increase participation in physical activity, reduce the Marion County middle and high school obesity rate.
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Access to Primary Care
Increase the number of individuals using free clinics, reduce the uninsured rates, and increase the number of services provided. Decrease the number of adults who could not see a doctor in the past year due to cost.
Increase Medicaid providers who will see high risk pregnancies and provide resource guide to pregnant women, and decrease the number of women receiving late or no prenatal care.
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Access to Oral Health Care
Increase mobile and portable clinic dental availability in high risk neighborhoods, increase evening and weekend dental appointment availability, and strengthen referral system. Reduce the oral health emergency department visit rate. Increase the percentage of adults who have visited a dentist or dental clinic.
Prevention Initiatives
Education to water system operators on funding available to add fluoridation to water systems and increase the percentage of Marion County population receiving optimally fluoridated water.
Performance Indicators
Performance indicators used include:
Number of individuals that have established a primary care physician.
Amount of those individuals who have decreased risk factors associated with chronic illnesses from the result of seeking primary prevention.
Increased percentage of adults who have visited or received services for oral care.
Decreased percentage of oral health emergency department visit rate.
Percentage of individuals within the county who have fluoridated water
Performance indicators are used as a form of measurement to demonstrate if goals are being achieved.
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References
FloridaHealth.gov (2021). Programs and Services. Https://floridahealth.gov
Institute of Medicine (U.S.). (2012). Primary Care and Public Health : Exploring Integration to Improve Population Health. National Academies Press.
Marioncountyhealth.gov (2020). COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PLAN. 2020_2024_community_health_improvement_plan_chip.pdf (floridahealth.gov)
Rollins, L., Gordon, T. K., Proeller, A., Ross, T., Phillips, A., Ward, C., Hopkins, M., Burney, R., Bojonowski, W., Hoffman, L., Daniels, Y., Mobley, M., Mubasher, M., & Akintobi, T. H. (2020). Community-Based Strategies for Health Priority Setting and Action Planning. American Journal of Health Studies, 35(2), 102–114.
Wellglorida.ord (2020). County Health Profile: Marion County Data. Marion County Data | WellFlorida.