Starting this month and running through December, more than 2,000 households in Washtenaw County will be called (by a real person, if you can imagine that!) and asked to participate in the Health Improvement Plan (HIP) survey.

If you get called and decide to participate, you will be asked health-related questions such as:

How active are you?

Do you have diabetes?

Do you have asthma?

The survey takes about 25 minutes and answers are kept confidential.

But wait - if we call you at an inconvenient time (we know you're busy) and you decide NOT to participate - our real, live interviewers will be happy to call you back at a better time. Still willing to consider participating? Great! I would like to share with you a few reasons why your participation matters.

Leveraging for Our Community

The survey, administered through Washtenaw County Public Health, began in 1995, and organizations across the county rely on the results to develop programs and services that make our county a healthier place to live, learn, work and play.

In fact, local hospitals, universities and small community-based agencies have used the survey data to leverage approximately $1 million a year into the county for funding
health improvement projects. For example, the HIP survey played a role in generating support for launching the Downtown Ypsilanti Farmers Market. It also helped the PUPS (Pick Up the Pace, Saline!) coalition access funds to enhance Saline's walkability by building the Depot Trail and installing bike racks in town.

The survey information reveals, in some cases, dramatic differences in health status and quality of life within our own county that otherwise may not be as forthcoming. For example, the 2005 HIP survey showed that:

• While 43 percent of Ann Arbor adults were overweight, 69 percent of adults in the county with less than a high school diploma were overweight.

• While 5 percent of adults county-wide reported they were food insecure, 24 percent of African Americans reported being food insecure.

• Those with a disability or who served actively in the military reported having more poor mental health days in an average month than others.

• While 94 percent of white adults said they usually or sometimes get the social support they need, just 73 percent of Asians said the same thing, a 21 percent difference.

The HIP survey is coordinated through the Health Improvement Plan of Washtenaw County, a county-wide initiative to improve community health and is managed by Washtenaw County Public Health. It has been conducted every five years since 1995. Results from the 2005 survey are available on our HIP website, and the 2010 survey results will be available in summer 2011.

Many organizations help fund the survey including:

• University of Michigan Health System
• Chelsea Area Wellness Foundation
• St. Joseph Mercy Health System
• The United Way of Washtenaw County
• Thomson Reuters
• Chelsea Community Hospital
• Washtenaw County Public Health

So please, if you are called, pick up the phone and participate! It's information that makes a difference right here in our own backyards.

Keven Mosley-Koehler is the HIP Coordinator at the Washtenaw County Public Health Department and she can be reached at 734-544-3078.