INDIANAPOLIS — How healthy is Marion County, and what can the county do to encourage healthy habits? The Marion County Public Health Department hopes to find out by sending a survey through the mail.
The health department will soon send surveys to more than 20,000 residents for its Community Health Assessment. It has not conducted an assessment since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
"People are ready for things to feel normal, but there are new challenges we are facing," said Elizabeth Bowman, the epidemiology manager at the Marion County Public Health Department. "There's always things that get lost when there's someone in the middle or some other process in the middle. This is a way for people to tell us, 'This is why this is a challenge that I'm facing."
The 2019 community health assessment found the major obstacles to good health in Marion County were poverty, obesity, and mental health.
Bowman anticipates finding out health challenges that some Hoosiers may not consider in their daily life.
"We're looking for any barriers around transportation, any barriers around being able to pay for health care, any issues with food access," Bowman said.
While the community health assessment will try to find solutions for everyone in the county, retired high school teacher Dale Yessak said his key to health is riding his electric bicycle on the Monon Trail.
"I'd probably be underneath a gravestone somewhere without cycling," Yessak said. "A career in the military degraded my ankles, knees, and hips. When I discovered cycling, it was great because the repetitive motion was a lot better."
Yessak now rides 20 miles or more on the Monon Trail every day and hopes others use the trail while the weather is still warm.
"It's health maintenance, it's good for cardio, and all of that," Yessak said. "It's important for me. It's an addiction by now."
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