The Process

Process Used for the 2018 Community Needs Health Assessment

The 2018 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) utilized the MAPP framework in an abbreviated manner, focusing on only three assessments: community health data, a quality of life survey, and a key stakeholder meeting and discussion during which the Forces of Change assessment was completed. Detailed methodology for each of the three assessments can be found in the completed 2018 report.  Healthy Teton County (HTC) is coordinated by a Core Committee with representatives from St. John's Medical Center, Teton County Health Department, and the Teton District Board of Health. A community stakeholder Steering Committee participated in key decision-making discussions during the stakeholder meeting. The HTC vision, of “a vibrant Greater Teton area where opportunities for health are available to all” has continued to guide this project since its inception.  

Process Used for the 2015 Community Health Needs Assessment

Healthy Teton County (HTC) is a community coalition focused on assessing and improving the health of Teton County residents through evidence-based strategies and collaborative problem-solving.picture of core committee meeting

The HTC initiative began in fall 2013 with a series of conversations between St. John’s Medical Center (SJMC) and Teton County Health Department (TCHD). Federal Affordable Care Act legislation mandated that all hospitals wishing to maintain 501(c)(3) status participate in a community health needs assessment and create an implementation plan based upon the results; SJMC fell subject to these requirements. At the same time, TCPH was mobilizing to collect data and update their biennial health assessment of the county’s population.

The MAPP Framework

SJMC and TCPH decided to combine their efforts into a large comprehensive assessment utilizing the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships(MAPP) framework as depicted below. The MAPP framework was developed by the National Association of County and City Health Officials in the late 1990s as a response to the Institute of Medicine calling for more active community involvement in public health performance monitoring. Since that time, MAPP’s ensuing iterations have been used by communities nationwide as an evidence-based model for assessing population health status and developing community health improvement plans. 

MAPP allowed HTC to address the social determinants of health while also evaluating vital statistics, demographics, health behaviors, disease morbidity, and disease mortality. The six phases of MAPP are:

mapp cycle graphic









1.Organize for Success

2.Visioning

3.The Four MAPP Assessments

     -Community Health Status Assessment

     -Community Themes & Strengths Assessment

     -Forces of Change Assessment

     -Local Public Health Status Assessment
    

4.Identification of Strategic Issues

5.Formulation of Goals & Strategies

6.The Action Cycle

From Data Collection to Action

The first three phases of MAPP were completed in spring 2015, at which time the 2015 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) report was released to the public. The CHNA findings indicated that while Teton County is very healthy in certain categories, there is still work to be done in other areas. A list of the top 10 primary health needs in Teton County was then developed by the HTC Steering Committee, which is a diverse advisory committee made up of over 30 community stakeholders. Steering Committee members determined the primary health issues with a weighted voting system. 

The HTC coalition then transitioned into the action phase of the initiative. Community-wide Action Plans for impacting our                                  Healthy Teton County prevention strategy

top 10 identified health needs were developed with guidance from 10 topic-oriented Action Groups. The Action Plans were published as the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) in December 2015; this document also includes the strategic framework that will guide the action phase of the HTC initiative.