DHHS Announces New Reports To Provide Snapshots Of Community Health Across New Hampshire

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) announces the release of new Community Health Outlook reports, which provide an opportunity to explore trends in health-related indicators in nearly 200 communities across the State. Community Health Outlook reports identify high-risk areas to inform communities’ efforts to improve health outcomes at the local level and advance health equity initiatives across New Hampshire.

Created by the DPHS Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) program, the Community Health Outlook reports include data on conditions that impact health, including community characteristics such as health insurance, unemployment, and poverty; health behaviors such as eating habits and alcohol use; and health outcomes, including asthma, cancer, childhood blood poisoning, and low birth weight.

“Providing reliable data at the community level will help inform public health action and target resources to communities where they are needed most,” said DPHS Director Lisa Morris. “These reports include social and economic conditions that influence the health outcomes of New Hampshire residents. Understanding how factors vary across the state can help us identify high-risk areas and populations, so we can work toward better health outcomes for everyone.”

The EPHT program is funded by a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Part of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, the program brings together health and environmental data from federal, state and local sources in an easy-to-use online data portal.