Survey shows mental health at top of Wayne County's health concerns

Mental health, infectious disease and nutrition are the top health concerns for residents in Wayne County.

The Health Department conducted a new cycle of assessments to identify health issues that impact the community.

The data is a result of collaborative work between healthcare providers, social service providers and other health departments across Ohio. The team conducts interviews, surveys and focus groups in addition to secondary data from previous health assessments.

“We have serious mental health issues going on within Wayne County,” said Elesa Eaken, community health promotion coordinator.

One powerful testament to the community's mental health concerns emerged from the survey in which a majority of the respondents identified depression and anxiety as their top priority for attention.

The ratio of Wayne County residents to mental health providers is 270:1.

Although the number of suicides has dropped, there is a large increase in suicide ideation, self-harm, and suicide attempts among children aged 10 to 24.

A correlation between mental illness, substance abuse

As studies have shown a strong correlation between serious mental illness and substance use disorders, the data shows 33.5% of people with mental illness also have a substance use disorder. In addition, excessive alcohol use increased to 21% locally in a comparison with the state and US, which are 19%.

With infectious diseases being another concern, a particular spotlight falls on the Hispanic population, revealing a critical challenge − language barriers. Communicating with health professionals and accessing services becomes an intricate task for many due to limited English proficiency, according to the survey.

“There are 5.1% of the population who speak limited English,” Eaken said. “That is a large concern for that population. Something that would need to be discussed amongst some of these organizations to see how they can bridge that barrier gap.”

Rising percentages of obesity is on the radar

The rising tide of obesity is a pressing concern on the community's health radar as well, with over 70% of adults in Wayne County falling into the overweight or obese category. Nearly 40% of children are grappling with this health challenge as well, data shows.

“We had discussions with the general population over nutrition education,” Eaken said. "We talked about what is healthy, how to obtain and how to afford access to healthy foods because obviously, it's cheaper to buy a Big Mac than it is to go to the store and buy yourself all the ingredients for a nice, healthy salad."

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the US. In Wayne County, the skin cancer rate is higher than throughout the state because of the agricultural nature of the county.

“Many people work at farms and spend a long time outdoors, especially in the warmer months,” said Nick Cascarelli, Wayne County health commissioner. “Some may not be using all the precautions for protection from UV rays like sun blocks."

Final draft of health of county report coming in February

The Health Department hosted two virtual town hall sessions to get feedback from the public. Each session began with a presentation that summarized the key findings of the assessment, then they took questions and comments from the attendees.

Some of the comments were to add information about homelessness and drug-related arrests into the survey. Another one was to present the outcomes of the survey to schools and churches to spread awareness among the young generations.

The report will be available on the Wayne County Health Department website, www.wayne-health.org. The public is encouraged to send feedback and comments as well.

“We'll leave that open for about a month, then we'll revise it if there's any revisions necessary, and we'll publish a final draft at some point in February,” Cascarelli said.

The health assessment is done every three years and a comprehensive plan is created. Each year the plan is reevaluated for effectiveness and necessary adjustments will be implemented for continuous improvement.

The next step is to develop a health improvement plan, which includes goals and a timeline to achieve them.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Mental health at top of Wayne County's health concerns