February 21 , 2008

Health District and BSU Graduate Students Conduct Community Assessment

The Central District Health Department (CDHD), with the help of Boise State University Master of Health Science graduate students, will be conducting door-to-door interviews with residents of Boise and Garden City. The surveys will take place in February and March as part of a research study designed to help CDHD better understand concerns residents have with access to health services. The neighborhoods that will be visited include those with high concentrations of young adults, young adults with children, and low income residents.

Student interviewers will be asking questions about access to preventative health services, unmet health needs, and barriers to getting needed health care. The students will travel in groups of four and will have both Boise State and research identification badges. Some groups will include foreign language interpreters. The survey will take place on the following weekends: February 16-17, 23-24, March 1-2, 8-9, and 15-16.

The results of the study will be analyzed and presented to local health care providers, including the Central District Health Department, to assist them in identifying where and why some populations do not have adequate access to preventative health care services. It is hoped health care providers will then be able to develop strategies for meeting the health care needs of everyone, especially populations that may currently be underserved.

For more information on the research study please contact the Communicable Disease Control unit of the Central District Health Department at 327-8625 or Lee Hannah and Boise State University at 426-2508.