CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), Bureau for Public Health recently announced the launch of the West Virginia State Health Assessment (SHA) survey to gain valuable insights into the health and well-being of West Virginians.

The SHA is a collaborative process aimed at data collection and analysis to provide an overview of the community’s current health status, needs, and factors that contribute to health outcomes. The SHA helps guide the development of a State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP), a five-year plan developed in collaboration with multi-sector partnerships to address public health issues and themes based on the results of the SHA, by facilitating the prioritization of strategies and activities, identifying collective resources, and determining how to align those resources to achieve improvements in health outcomes.

“This survey is an opportunity for West Virginians to contribute to improving the health of our state. We want to understand the strengths, health status, and concerns of your community so that we can implement real public health action to address your health priorities,” said Dr. Matthew Christiansen, State Health Officer and Commissioner of DHHR’s Bureau for Public Health. “This is the first step in creating real change to improve health outcomes in West Virginia.”

For more information about the West Virginia State Health Assessment survey, please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/publichealthquality/statepublichealthassessment/Pages/default.aspx. To participate in the survey, please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/32ZRWPC. The State Health Assessment Survey is available through October 9, 2023. To apply for jobs in the public health field, please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/Pages/Career-Opportunities.aspx.