Healthy Tazewell County Initiative: Implementation of the MAPP Process and Survey Findings

The Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) process, provides a way for communities to collaboratively prioritize and improve public health issues by determining gaps as well as strengths in public health services (McClellan, 2005). Results from the four assessments in step three of MAPP identify quality of life issues, efficiency of current services, observation of community health status, as well as forces of technology, laws, and other ever-developing facets that may affect how public health systems function (“National Association of City and County Health Officials,” 2012). To date no studies have been found investigating the MAPP process relative to which factors citizens perceive most important to quality of life within a community. Thus, as a research question, we investigated the most important features of a healthy community listed by residents of Tazewell County, then used the quality of life questions to predict a multi-item outcome applying hierarchical regression analysis. The results of this research found that when the Tazewell Public Health Department is seeking to implement positive change in the community they should aim to focus on living in a community that (a) has a strong overall quality of life, (b) is a good place to grow old, (c) has clean air and water, (d) has an active sense that citizens can make the community a better place individually and corporately, and (e) has pride in shared accomplishments.