The Madera County Department of Public Health (MCDPH), in partnership with the Live Well Madera County (LWMC) Coalition, has released the LWMC 2023 Community HealthAssessment (CHA). This comprehensive report takes a deep dive into the community’s health and social needs and is key in helping to better understand the health of the people who live in Madera County.
The CHA process takes place every 3-5 years and involves reviewing local health data and listening to the community. LWMC, a multi-sectorial coalition with a mission to assess, collaborate and transform. It is the guiding partnership for this assessment. LWMC and local community-based organizations collected nearly 1,700 community surveys and conducted multiple focus groups and interviews.
Special effort was made to hear from populations that are traditionally harder to reach, such as monolingual and rural communities. The issues that rose to the top include economic insecurity, access to care, lack of social support, neighborhood and environment concerns, chronic disease (diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease), mental health, domestic and youth violence, and substance abuse.