Using the Community Health Assessment (CHA) to Reduce Racial Health Disparities within Gaston County’s African American Population

In North Carolina, all local health departments are required to complete a community health assessment (CHA) every four years in order to achieve local health department accreditation. The intent of the CHA is to assess the local community’s health needs, recognize barriers to good health, understand perceptions of personal and community health, and pinpoint areas of population health inequities. The CHA effort is led by the local health department and is often achieved through collaboration with numerous stakeholders. The CHA team engages in activities that map resources, prioritize health issues, develop community health improvement strategies, and identify health disparities within local populations.The main objective of this paper is to examine the Gaston County Department of Health & Human Services’ use of the CHA in reducing racial health disparities within the county’s African American population, as these disparities are an important economic, social justice and public health issue. Previous CHAs have demonstrated that African Americans in Gaston County have experienced disproportionate rates of teen pregnancy, infant mortality and shorter life expectancy, compared to the white population. As Gaston County prepares for its 2017 CHA, this paper seeks to identify how Gaston County can better use the CHA to reduce racial health disparities in the county’s African American population. Recommendations are provided that promote continuous quality improvement of Gaston County’s CHA process and propose the following strategies for improvement: using the Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) model as a strategy for increasing community engagement; ensuring proper representation of minority groups; and providing comprehensive training on cultural competency, the ecological model, and the way social determinants of health impact health outcomes.Master of Public Healt