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Editor’s note: The Public Health Playbook is a new column through Mower County Health and Human Services.

By Allison Scott

Have you ever wondered how community-based organizations decide what to focus on?  How do they ensure that their work reflects what the community truly wants and needs?  Well, the answer is simple – by asking the community.

Since fall of 2024, Mower County Health and Human Services (HHS) has been conducting  their Community Health Assessment (CHA). This assessment is a collaboration between  community health boards and the community itself to understand the current health status  of our county and to uncover challenges that lead to health inequity. 

Asking the ‘why’ to complex things has always been a hobby of mine – something my  mother didn’t particularly enjoy. So, when I saw in the early phases of CHA research, that  Mower County was ranked 81st out of the 87 counties in Minnesota for ‘quality of life’ on the  County Health Rankings and Roadmaps dashboard, the only thing I could do was to ask  why. This made it clear that we could not only look at the physical health of our county but also assess the socioeconomic and environmental factors that play a major role in the  quality of one’s life. Understanding health behaviors, health conditions, and the social  determinants of health for Mower County residents was the aim of this project. 

To achieve such a task, we knew that major community outreach needed to be conducted.  However, more often than not, outreach efforts fit into a one size fits all model and misses  a large percentage of the community. I had the honor of leading this effort, and I wanted to  ensure that the status quo was interrogated by heading down pathways not previously  explored. At the beginning of this project a phrase stuck in my head, “To understand health  disparities, one must give the community’s voice the space it needs and listen.” Thus, the  mission statement was born.

A priority for the CHA was to draw from authentic  engagement; therefore, we went out to meet people where they were and learned from  their lived experiences. A multifaceted community engagement approach was utilized,  leveraging social media, partnerships, mailed surveys, key informant interviews,  community listening sessions, and numerous outreach events. Ultimately, we wanted to  hear from everyone who would spare a second to speak to us. 

From these efforts, a total of 697 responses were collected. While this makes up less than  2% of the entire residency of Mower County, the demographics and economic status were reflective of the overall population. Additionally, through collaboration with community  partners, we had the ability to source supplemental data to support our findings. These  additional data points helped the assessment cover a larger scope of influence.

If you’re wondering what the assessments uncovered, that’s exactly what we were hoping for!

The CHA 2025-2029 has been published on Mower County’s website on the landing  page. It will be featured on the ‘Latest News’ section until the end of May, then will be  transferred to its permanent location under the Health and Human Services tab. 

You may also be wondering, what’s next? This CHA is a document for the public, intended  to be used by the public. We want this information out there to aid in the movement of  building a brighter future for all of Mower County. Additionally, the strategic planning  process for Mower County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) is well underway. 

The CHIP serves as an active response to the data uncovered by the CHA. This plan serves  as a five-year guide for our community health boards and community partners to  strategically plan to best approach the most pressing barriers that were identified. This  report is projected to be published in October 2025. 

So next time you see a survey asking for your feedback, spare a few seconds to fill it out.  You never know the impact that your voice has, it may just positively change the entire  community!