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TCC Fairbanks Community Health Needs Assessment

Denny DeGross, MA
Jenny Loudon, MA
Beth Landon, MBA, MHA
Stacy L. Smith, MFA
Sanna Doucette, BA
Heather Brock

In 1998 and 1999, the University of Alaska Anchorage's Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies and Alaska Center for Rural Health provided technical assistance for a community health assessment project in the North Star Borough, with field work implemented by Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC). This Fairbanks household survey closely followed the survey of Native villages in the TCC region. ICHS provided technical assistance and training support for a household survey performed by TCC. Upon survey completion, ICHS performed the data entry, analysis, and reporting of the completed surveys.

The survey had five components:

1. Respondents' perceptions of environmental health issues in the village,
2. Perceptions of health and social service needs in the village,
3. Perceptions of health needs for the household,
4. Perceptions of own health, and
5. Demographics for respondents and household.

The Fairbanks survey contained the same components as the village survey, but several variables were changed, and some were added to reflect the more urban environment in which the respondents lived. Of the 2,216 surveys distributed, 1,043 were returned for an overall response rate of 47%. The final survey report mirrored the format used in the village survey reports.