SALISBURY — The Community Health Needs Assessment Steering Committee met on Monday to discuss the results of the survey that has been out to the public for the past several weeks.

There were 1,030 survey responses collected. Slightly more than 21 percent were male respondents. About 80 percent of respondents were white and the largest age group comprised those older than 65. More than 400 respondents were in that age group. Similarly, about 400 respondents reported being retired. However, approximately the same number of respondents reported having full-time jobs.

Of those who reported having a job, 75 percent of them work in Rowan County. Five hundred and fifty-seven of them have a college degree. A fairly even bell curve distribution emerged as it pertained to yearly household income with the largest group of respondents representing the $50,000-$75,000 range.

The greatest number of respondents came from Salibury-based zip codes. Nearly 70 percent of respondents were from either 28144, 28146 and 28147. China Grove’s 28023 was fairly well represented at 9.9 percent of respondents, by far the greatest non-Salisbury zip code.

Now, for the results.

What do you believe are the most important health-related challenges in your community?

The No. 1 answer to this question was mental health issues including anxiety and depression. Access to affordable medication was the second most and access to health care was the third most.

Substance abuse, obesity, diabetes, cancers, heart diseases and tobacco use also made the list.

What are the most important community issues?

Affordable and safe housing was the number one most answered response to this question on the survey. Affordability played a role in two of the next three top choices as well with access to affordable healthy food and access to affordable childcare ranking second and fourth, respectively.

Safety or crime was the third ranked response. Access to employment opportunities, physical activity opportunities and educational opportunities were three other responses.

What does your community need to be healthy?

Responses to this question aligned with the previous question. Financial resources to address needs was the number one response. Access and affordable health care, food and housing was the number two response. Other responses included more public transportation, law enforcement visibility and mental and behavioral health services.

Other portions of the survey asked respondents to consider various statements with the answer: strongly disagree; disagree; neither; agree; strongly agree.

While safety and crime was a concern in other areas of the survey, more than 50 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they felt safe in the community. Aligning with concerns over access to strong employment opportunities, almost 60 percent of respondents said that they disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that there are enough well-paying jobs in the community.

Of note, two percent of respondents said they had not eaten a vegetable or fruit in the last week. That question did lead to another about access to healthy produce. Almost 80 percent said it is easy to get fresh fruits and vegetables with slightly more than 20 percent describing the process as very difficult or somewhat difficult.

Another series of questions explored insurance. Seventy percent of respondents said that they were at least satisfied with their insurance. Twenty-six percent of respondents indicated that they do not have dental insurance and 32 percent said that they do not have vision insurance.

Seventy-five percent of respondents indicated that they had not delayed medical care during the past year. Of the remaining respondents that had, cost of service was the number one reason, with inconvenient hours and appointment wait times as the No. 2 and No. 3 responses, respectively.

So what is next?

Rowan County Public Health, in collaboration with Healthy Rowan, Novant Health Rowan Medical Center and Rowan County United Way, will be hosting a Community Health Forum as part of the 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA).

That forum will serve as an opportunity for community members, stakeholders and organizations to share their insights on key health priorities and help shape the future of health initiatives in Rowan County.

The health forum is scheduled for April 22 from 2-5 p.m. at the Rowan County Events Center, located at 1965 Jake Alexander Blvd W, Salisbury. Following the forum, a comprehensive presentation of the date will be created and then disseminated throughout the community.