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Health
and Wellness
The
Harvey County Health Department aspires to lead the community
to become a county where healthy life-styles are the norm.
Chronic
Disease Risk Reduction
The
Chronic Disease Risk Reduction program operates within the
scope and purpose of the Harvey County’s Capacity Building
Partnership. In 2007, this Partnership identified three needs
to focus on: Clean Indoor Air ordinances, Workplace Wellness
and utilization of the Healthy Communities Toolkit as an evaluator
of needs and next steps.
A
Chronic Disease Risk Reduction (CDRR) grant supports the Harvey
County Health Department in the development and implementation
of a comprehensive plan for the reduction of health-risk behaviors.
Funded by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment,
CDRR grants focus on three non-medical interventions
with a proven track record of reducing the risk of developing
chronic diseases.
- Reducing
the effects of tobacco
- Preventing
Initiation
- Promoting
Quitting
- Clean
Indoor Air Ordinances
- Improving
Nutrition
- Increasing
Exercise
- Workplace
Wellness initiatives
Behavioral
Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) results from 2004
and 2005 data indicate that nearly 14% of Harvey County
residents are current cigarette smokers. Nearly 20% reported
they do not participate in leisure time physical activities
or exercises, while 8 out of 10 adults in Harvey County
reported they do not consume fruits and vegetables at least
5 times per day. More than one-third of the adults in Harvey
County are overweight, and 20% of adults are obese (BMI>=30).
Additionally, one in ten residents reported they have diabetes,
one in four adults suffer from hypertension, both conditions
affected adversely by tobacco use and secondhand smoke (2009
CDRR grant application).
According
to the 2007 Communities That Care (CTC) survey, 95.7% of
adolescents surveyed in grades 6-12 in Harvey County surveyed
believe there is an appreciable health risk to smoking.
Yet, over 25% reported that they had smoked cigarettes at
least once, and the rate of adolescents who have tried smokeless
tobacco rose from 11.5 % in 2006 to 15.7% in 2007. Less
than 7% of Harvey County students expect to smoke as adults
(CTC data) and about the same percentage think it is wrong
for someone their age to smoke. (2009 CDRR grant application).
In
each of the three focus areas, CDRR grantees seek to reduce
and eliminate the disparities in negative effects among different
population groups. Disparate populations may include distinctions
due to race/ethnic origin, economic class/income, education,
physical/ mental ability, religious affiliation or other factors.
Designated
part of the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA),
The KDHE 2006 Vital Statistics estimates a Harvey County
population of 33,643. The Hispanic population of the county
increased from 8% in 2000 to 9.3% in 2006, compared to 8.6%
for the state. In 2006, Hispanics comprised 73.4% of the
minority population in Harvey County. The department provides
25% of its service encounters to the Hispanic community.
(2009 CDRR grant application).
Harvey
County received its first CDRR grant for fiscal year 2007/2008
and expects to receive funding in 2008/2009. A strong partner,
Communities in Schools (CIS) of Harvey County hosts the CDRR
coalition as the Tobacco Workgroup of the
Drug Free Youth Community Coalition.
The
CDRR grant manager expects to work with the five school
districts, Communities in Schools, the Regional Prevention
Center and other organizations or access points to youth
to re-activate and expand a youth movement, thus laying
the foundation for sustainable youth involvement in tobacco
prevention. (2009 CDRR grant application).
Websites:
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