History
The Riverside University Health System - Public Health (RUHS Public Health) serves one of the largest local public health jurisdictions in the U.S., with more than 2.3 million residents. Riverside County spans 7,200 square miles and is roughly the size of the state of New Jersey. Composed of a mix of urban, suburban and rural areas, Riverside County is a vast and fast-growing economic center and tourist destination.
In 2014, Riverside County brought together a team of partnering agencies to begin planning Riverside County’s first comprehensive Community Health Assessment (CHA). The purpose of a CHA is to determine public health needs and priorities. This joint effort aimed to produce a CHA aligned with community values that reflect the needs of Riverside County’s diverse population. In 2016, the Riverside County Health Coalition reviewed and compiled the information from the CHA to create Riverside County’s first Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). The CHIP is a long-term (2016-2021), systematic plan created to address issues identified in the CHA. The purpose of the CHIP is to describe how partners and community will work together to create a healthier and more equitable Riverside County.
RUHS Public Health is moving forward with the next round of a Community Health Assessment to inform and update the CHIP for another five years (2022-2027). RUHS Public Health is partnering with Health Assessment and Research for Communities (HARC) to conduct a countywide needs assessment that will include questions regarding demographics, COVID-19 related needs and behaviors, adverse childhood experiences, and community health (e.g. social determinants of health, priority health issues etc.).
RUHS Public Health is also partnering with Equity Wellness Institute, Inc. to provide technical assistance to selected community-based organizations (CBOs) to engage in community-based participatory research. Selected CBOs will assist with focus groups, interviews, surveys and other innovative and culturally appropriate forms of data collection.
The community assessment incorporates the following principles:
Purpose: Learn about the health of the population, contributing factors to greater health risks or poorer health outcomes of identified populations and community resources available to improve the health status. The community health assessment is the basis for development of the community health improvement plan.
Goal: Describe the health of the population and identify areas for health improvement, contributing factors that impact health outcomes, community assets and resources that can be mobilized to improve population health.
Principles: Collaborative process of collecting and analyzing data and information for use in educating and mobilizing communities, developing priorities, garnering resources or using resources in different ways, adopting or revising policies and planning actions to improve the population’s health.
Process: Systematic collection and analysis of data and information to provide a sound basis for decision-making and action conducted in partnership with other organizations and members of the community.
Content: Data on demographics; socioeconomic characteristics; quality of life; community resources; behavioral factors; the environment (including the built environment); morbidity and mortality; and other social determinants of health status.