Why Is This Important?
Mental Health and Substance Abuse as a combination were chosen as a priority because of the following factors:
- Both of these impact many other health and quality of life issues such as:
- Employment barrier
- Maternity complications and Infant health/mortality
- Traffic accidents and fatalities
- Violent Crime increase
- Both hhave consistently been an issue for many years
- They are often intertwined and must be addressed simultaneously.
- Mental Health was chosen as the 3rd most important Health Problem in the County. (#1 Obesity/Overweight and #2 Diabetes are addressed in the previous priority – Diseases of the Heart)
- Since 2010 there have been significant increases in the Rate of Unintentional Opioid Overdose Deaths and the Rate of Opioid Overdose Emergency Department/Room Visits. The Rate of Emergency Department/Room visits has increased 110.8 points since 2010.
- Participants in the CHA Public Survey said that 3 of the top 4 Unhealthy Behaviors listed in the survey are related to Substance Abuse:
- #1 Illicit Drug Abuse
- #3 Prescription Drug Abuse
- #4 Drunk Driving
- They are related to (affects/causes or is impacted by) several of the Health NC 2030 Health Indicators and the Desired Results:
- Improve child well-being
- Decrease drug overdose deaths
- Decrease excessive drinking
- Improve birth outcomes
- Improve access and treatment for mental health needs
Measures
Time
Period
Period
Current Actual Value
Current Target Value
Current
Trend
Trend
Baseline
% Change
% Change
2022
42.1
4
205%