las vegas – Concluding a comprehensive, comprehensive process that began in October 2021, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) released the Southern Nevada Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), which addresses public health issues in Clark County over the next three to five years priorities.
CHIP is a community-wide strategic planning effort to have an impact on the health of the community. It is a collaboration between government agencies, healthcare providers, nonprofits, and academia. CHIP addresses public health priorities in four key areas: chronic disease, access to care, funding and transportation:
- chronic: Chronic disease is a condition that lasts for more than a year or more and requires ongoing medical care, limited activities of daily living, or both. Chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, with one in six adults living with a chronic condition in the country.
- CHIP identifies smoking and tobacco use in general as important factors for several chronic diseases. Tobacco control efforts are seen as a key mechanism for reducing the burden of chronic disease in Southern Nevada. According to the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS), 15.5 percent of Nevada adults used tobacco in 2021, compared to the national average of 14.4 percent. In Clark County, the adult smoking rate is 14.88% (BRFSS, 2021).
- In 2018-2020, the death rate from heart disease in Clark County was 386 per 100,000, compared with 319.5 per 100,000 in the United States (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, 2018-2020, Age 35+).
- get care: A person’s health should not depend on their zip code, economic status, religion or sexual orientation. From 2014-2018, the average rate of individuals lacking health insurance in Clark County was 12.5%, compared to a national average of 9.4% (American Community Survey, 2014-2018). Access to adequate health care helps address disparities and is the first step in building a more equitable health system for everyone.
- transportation: Reliable transportation can help boost employment while improving access to healthcare providers and healthy food. It can also expand access to parks and recreation for healthy lifestyles. From 2016-2020, the percentage of workers in Clark County who commute by public transportation was 3 percent, compared to the national average of 4.6 percent. (American Community Survey, 2016-2020).
- funds: In the United States, only 3% of healthcare spending is on preventable disease, while 75% of healthcare spending is related to preventable diseases. Overall public health spending in Nevada is $72 per person in 2021; meanwhile, the national average is $116 per person (American Health Rankings, 2021). Increased public health funding can increase employment, address high health care and transportation costs, increase limited public resources, and increase educational opportunities.
Regional Health Officer Dr Fermin Leguen commented on CHIP and the value it provides to community public health programmes, saying it provides clear, specific and action-oriented goals. “CHIP is based on sound, evidence-based strategies. It presents a realistic timeline for improving public health in Southern Nevada.”
CHIP can be viewed on the Healthy Southern Nevada website at www.healthysouthernnevada.org. To learn more about CHIP or get involved, please contact HealthyConnect@SNHD.org.
