December 2008

Pike and Wayne Counties Health and Human Services Needs Assessment & Strategic Community-based Partnership

The study was conducted to develop a landmark study that will enable Pike and Wayne County governing bodies and community organizations to establish policy priorities that will guide the delivery of health care and human services to the populations of each county with maximum effectiveness and efficiency.

Starting in April 2008, the researchers gathered information including statistical datasets, community perception and the opinions of local experts. The data was analyzed on the areas current and potentially emerging needs. The analyses occurred on several levels including the two county region, each county and where possible the six communities within the region. The statistical health-related database drew upon large datasets from three states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, and was used to uniformly identify significance on the basis of county or community rank in comparison to comparable counties or communities.

The researchers found high suicide rates in both counties and high hospital admission rates for alcohol and drug abuse in Pike East and South, and high regional rates of poor mental health and alcohol abuse among women. In addition, they documented community sentiment and expert opinion supporting severe unmet need throughout the two county area.