Purpose of the Workgroup
Surveys are an important tool public health professionals can use to gain a better understanding of their community’s health, health behaviors, perceptions, and risk factors. However, creating brand-new surveys from scratch comes with several hurdles.
- Creating high-quality surveys from scratch can take quite a bit of time and effort
- It can be challenging to compare data across county lines against data collected by other local health departments
That’s where the KS Survey Library Workgroup comes in – we exist to help improve the way local health departments collect survey data.
In partnership with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the Kansas Association of Local Health Departments (KALHD), the WSU Community Engagement Institute (CEI) has teamed up with the National Academy of Sciences (AoS) initiative to build a library of surveys for local health departments to use, with KS local health departments – so that health departments won’t have to reinvent the wheel each time they need to develop a survey.
What is a Survey Library?
The Survey Library is a collection of surveys that have been created by other local health departments. These surveys were developed within Kansas and in other state’s across the country.
Where can I find the Survey Library?
The National Survey Library lives within a google sheet, which is able to be viewed by all members of the AoS Initiative across the nation. The tabs are organized by Foundational Public Health Services. You can contact your state’s AoS “Librarian”, Taylor Carter, at [email protected], to request access and/or ask questions.
What does the KS Survey Library Workgroup do?
This Workgroup meets virtually (via Zoom) on the first Wednesday of each month to:
- Learn more about methods for collecting quality primary data
- Explore surveys that were already created by a local health department
- Discuss, debate, and develop standardized surveys for KS LHDs – as requested and determined by the workgroup.
All members of this workgroup and their LHD colleagues are welcome to attend. Please contact [email protected] for meeting details.
What surveys has this workgroup developed?
As of October 2022, the workgroup has developed ten sections of questions local health departments can utilize for Community Health Assessments. They have also developed a standardized LHD Customer Satisfaction survey. In the near future, the workgroup will be developing a standardized survey for evaluating community perceptions of social determinants of health.
How can I join the Workgroup?
Every health department in Kansas has been granted at least one membership to this group. If you are unsure who that person is, or if you would like to join the group, please contact [email protected] and/or Jacob Holdaway at [email protected].
Who can I contact if I have questions?
Please contact [email protected] or Jacob Holdaway at [email protected] for any additional information.