Delaware General Health District is planning on stepping up its community assessment activities. It has two coordinators onboard, each looking into two different aspects of assessment. One is taking care of personal health assessment with directions from the PHD (Formerly known as APEX-Assessment Protocol for Excellence in Public Health) committee and the other is looking into the Environmental Health aspect of assessment with direction from PACE-EH (Protocol for Assessing Excellence in Environmental Health) committee.

The personal health assessment coordinator conducted an adult behavior risk factor survey in 2002. It was a computerized telephone survey of 1067 Health District residents. A detailed report can be obtained from the "Health Indicators for Delaware Health District Population- BRFSS survey 2002" data book. The highlight of the results can be found in the Summary of Results.

Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) is a strategic approach to community health improvement. This tool helps communities improve health and quality of life through community-wide strategic planning. Using MAPP, communities seek to achieve optimal health by identifying and using their resources wisely, taking into account their unique circumstances and needs, and forming effective partnerships for strategic action.

For more information on these areas contact Lux Phatak at 740.203.2081

PACE-EH will continue to implement the top 4 priorities in 2004.
Our top four priorities are:

• County Development
• Environmental Education
• Surface Water Quality
• Litter Prevention and Recycling

Our PACE committee will continue to meet on a quarterly basis. We will be hosting a guest speaker series in 2004, which address our top 4 priorities.
A public opinion poll was conducted in 2003, and concluded that our PACE priorities are still leading environmental issues to our residents.

For more information on PACE-EH, please contact Susan Sutherland, R.S. at 740.203.2082