2022 Community Health Assessment
Executive Summary
Vision Statement
Lincoln County’s 2022 community health assessment (CHA) was completed in collaboration with Lincoln County Partnership for Health. Lincoln County Partnership for Health believes in a vision of encouraging health and wellness for all through education, awareness and prevention by means of active community collaboration.
Leadership
Lincoln County’s 2022 CHA process was led by the Lincoln County Health Department and utilized a traditional leadership structure. This assessment was drafted by Lincoln County Health Department’s Community Health Division.
Partnerships/Collaborations
|
Partnerships |
Number of Partners |
|
Public Health Agency |
8 |
|
Hospital/Health Care System(s) |
1 |
|
Healthcare Provider(s) – other than behavioral health |
0 |
|
Dental Health Providers |
0 |
|
EMS Providers |
1 |
|
Pharmacy/Pharmacies |
0 |
|
Community Organization(s) – advocacy, charitable, NGO |
5 |
|
Business(es) – employers, not organizations |
0 |
|
Educational Institution(s) – colleges, universities |
0 |
|
Public School System |
1 |
|
Media/Communication Outlet(s) |
0 |
|
Public Members |
0 |
|
Other |
11 |
Regional/Contracted Services
The Lincoln County Health Department did not receive support from a regional community health initiative or privately contracted vendors for this community health assessment.
Theoretical Framework
The Population Health Model was used to guide Lincoln County’s community health assessment process in hopes of promoting consistency and alignment with work at the state level. The Population Health Model, also known as the County Health Rankings Model, was used as the framework for Healthy North Carolina 2030: A Path Toward Health as well as Healthy People 2030 which helps guide work at the federal level (North Carolina Division of Public Health, 2022).
Collaborative Process Summary
Lincoln County’s Partnership for Health team worked from January-October 2022 to identify three health priorities for the County. Steps included:
-
Establishing the CHA team in January 2022;
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Reviewing a draft of the Community Health Opinion Survey in May 2022;
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Promoting survey participation between June-October 2022;
-
Meeting to check in regarding survey progress in September 2022;
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Analyzing primary and secondary data in October 2022; and
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Selecting top health priorities in October 2022.
Lincoln County Board of Health members were engaged in June 2022 for help promoting the Community Health Opinion Survey. Board of Health members later reviewed the selected priorities in November 2022.
Key Findings
Lincoln County residents enjoy a longer life expectancy than North Carolinians across the state and results from the 2022 Lincoln County Community Health Opinion Survey indicate a general satisfaction with the quality of life in the County (North Carolina Center for Health Statistics, n.d.). In 2019, cancer was the County’s leading cause of death which was trailed closely by heart disease (North Carolina Center for Health Statistics, 2021b). From 2009-2019 the County’s death rate from all cancers trended upward while the county’s death rate from heart disease declined (North Carolina Center for Health Statistics, 2010-2021).
The primary and secondary data collected during this assessment demonstrate a need to reduce tobacco use, decrease sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and boost physical activity among residents. As for sexual health, Lincoln County has seen a steady decline in teen birth rates over the last decade and in 2021 had significantly lower newly diagnosed rates for several sexually transmitted infections than the State (North Carolina Center for Health Statistics, n.d.-n.d.; North Carolina HIV/STD/Hepatitis Surveillance Unit, 2022). Unfortunately, substance use continues to be a challenge with drug overdose deaths increasing by nearly 62 percent in Lincoln County from 2019 to 2020 (North Carolina Center for Health Statistics, 2023). Moreover, drug abuse was the number one problem affecting quality of life according to 2022 Lincoln County Community Health Opinion Survey respondents.
Access to care also continues to present challenges for Lincoln County. Lincoln County had higher population-to-provider ratios for each category (i.e., primary care physicians, dentists and mental health providers) when compared to neighboring Catawba and Cleveland counties as well as North Carolina (County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, n.d.-f).
As for social and economic factors, Lincoln County observed a lower unemployment rate as well as a higher median annual income from 2017 to 2021 compared to North Carolina (United States Census Bureau, 2011-2021a; United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). While this secondary data is encouraging, low income/poverty was the second leading problem affecting quality of life according to 2022 Lincoln County Community Health Opinion Survey respondents.
Lincoln County has consistently had higher graduation rates than North Carolina and enjoys a significantly lower violent crime rate (Criminal Justice Information Services Division, n.d.; North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2022). This data complements the primary data collected during the CHA since 78.11 percent of 2022 Lincoln County Community Health Opinion Survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “Lincoln County is a safe place to live.”
As for the physical environment, Lincoln County has higher levels of owner-occupied housing units and a lower percentage of households with at least one severe housing problem when compared to the State (County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, n.d.-g; United States Census Bureau, 2021c). On the other hand, the primary data revealed that more affordable/better housing was the second leading service needing the most improvement according to 2022 Lincoln County Community Health Opinion Survey respondents.
Lastly, Lincoln County scored higher on the food environment index than North Carolina but lags behind the State slightly in adequate access to exercise opportunities (County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, n.d.-b; County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, n.d.-c).
Health Priorities
Lincoln County Partnership for Health selected access to care, health behaviors and substance use as the top three health priorities for the 2022 CHA cycle. These priorities were reviewed by the Lincoln County Board of Health on November 1, 2022.
Next Steps
Once the CHA is disseminated to the public and stakeholders, Lincoln County’s Partnership for Health team will develop community health improvement plans (CHIPs).
References
County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. (n.d.-b). Access to exercise opportunities.
County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. (n.d.-c). Food environment index.
County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. (n.d.-f). Lincoln, North Carolina.
https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/explore-health-rankings/north-carolina/lincoln?year=2022
County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. (n.d.-g). Severe housing problems.
Criminal Justice Information Services Division. (n.d.). Violent crime. U.S. Department of
Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/violent-crime
North Carolina Center for Health Statistics. (2010-2021). North Carolina vital statistics (Vol. 2).
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health. https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/vital.cfm
North Carolina Center for Health Statistics. (2021b). North Carolina vital statistics
2019 (Vol. 2). North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health. https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/vital/lcd/2019/docs/2019-VS-Volume2-FINAL.pdf
North Carolina Center for Health Statistics. (2023, January 13). Vital statistics. North
Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health. https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/vital.cfm
North Carolina Center for Health Statistics. (n.d.). 2019 Detailed Mortality Statistics for North
Carolina. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health. https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/vital/dms/2019/
North Carolina Center for Health Statistics. (n.d.-n.d.). North Carolina reported pregnancies.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health. https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/vital.cfm
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (2022, August 29). Longitudinal four-year and
five-year cohort graduation rates through 2022 [Data set]. https://www.dpi.nc.gov/longitudinal-four-year-and-five-year-cohort-graduation-rates-through-2022
North Carolina Division of Public Health. (2022). 2022 North Carolina state health improvement
plan. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
North Carolina HIV/STD/Hepatitis Surveillance Unit. (2022, October). 2021 North Carolina
STD surveillance report. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Communicable Disease Branch. https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/cd/stds/figures/2021-STD-AnnualReportFinal.pdf
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Local area unemployment statistics.
https://www.bls.gov/lau/tables.htm
United States Census Bureau. (2011-2021a). Income in the past 12 months (Table S1901) [Data
United States Census Bureau. (2021c). Selected housing characteristics (Table DP04) [Data set].
Priorities
Lincoln County Partnership for Health selected access to care, health behaviors and substance use as the top three health priorities for the 2022 CHA cycle. These priorities were reviewed by the Lincoln County Board of Health on November 1, 2022.
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