The AHSR project is organized by the Anchorage Department of Health and Human Services, the United Way of Anchorage, and Providence Alaska in cooperation with you, our community partners, to identify, develop, and publish annual health indicators that provide a “snapshot” of health in Anchorage. We are combining efforts to ensure the most useful information for health and human service stakeholders in Anchorage. Health indicators selected for AHSR will be the core of the Health section of Anchorage CAP.
Project Rationale:
AHSR and CAP will improve the health of our community by enabling our community to assess needs, monitor health status and problems, develop policies and programs, and evaluate and assure the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of interventions in Anchorage. This will allow our community to use information specific to Anchorage rather than relying solely on, the more often reported, state and national level measures. CAP and ASHR are designed to make Anchorage the healthiest community it can be by assisting in setting goals and driving community action around those goals. There are many stakeholders in our community who will benefit from having reliable Anchorage health data including:
Policy Makers– The State Legislature, Anchorage Assembly, and many health leaders make policy and funding decisions that affect our community's health. AHSR will inform their decisions and prioritization of funding.
Program Designers and Managers – Programs designed to improve health can use data to direct, prioritize, and shape their efforts.
Program Evaluators– Local data will enable programs to determine effectiveness of interventions designed to promote health in the community.
AHSR and CAP will improve the health of our community by enabling our community to assess needs, monitor health status and problems, develop policies and programs, and evaluate and assure the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of interventions in Anchorage. This will allow our community to use information specific to Anchorage rather than relying solely on, the more often reported, state and national level measures. CAP and ASHR are designed to make Anchorage the healthiest community it can be by assisting in setting goals and driving community action around those goals. There are many stakeholders in our community who will benefit from having reliable Anchorage health data including: Community Members– Anchorage residents will benefit from more effective services targeted to their needs.Voters will have reliable local data to help inform decisions related to health.
Key Project Goals:
Identify key health indicators in the following categories:
Access to Health Care
Special Populations
Social Indicators
Environmental Health
Chronic and Communicable Diseases
Maternal and Child Health.
Identify gaps in knowledge and develop questions for primary data collection to fill those gaps Identify trends and update health indicators annually.
Publish annual report on Anchorage's health.
The Anchorage Health Status and the Anchorage Community Assessment Project will be an ongoing resource for programs and projects to identify priorities, to direct resources, and evaluate interventions.
For more information, important dates, and to track the status of the project please bookmark this webpage.
Contact Tari O'Connor @ WWHHS@ci.anchorage.ak.us to join our stakeholders list.