Community Health Assessment

Conducting a Community Health Assessment (CHA) helps our public health department and community better understand the community’s health needs, design programs, inform policymakers, support local community-based organizations, and advocate for funding to address those needs to improve public health. We partnered with our community to understand health needs, gaps, and existing community strengths. We identified 30 local leaders across 14 different fields. We conducted several data collection activities, including community leader interviews, community survey in English and Spanish, and health indicators from state and national sources.

We will use this information to develop our Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) and continue collaborating with our dedicated community partners to improve both health and health outcomes. You can read more about the work that is already in progress, as well as next steps at the end of this report.

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2025 Community Health Assessment

The 2025 Walton County Community Health Assessment highlights critical health issues by gathering and analyzing relevant data from the past year.

View 2025 Community Health Assessment

Key Findings and Crosscutting Themes

  1. Expand access to health services, including medical care and mental health services, prioritizing expecting mothers, babies, and residents that are considered ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed).
  2. Support social and mental health by tackling social isolation, depression, stress, bullying, and illicit substance use as well as alcohol use.
  3. Improve housing and living conditions by supporting efforts to address housing affordability, physical housing conditions, and the ability to live independently for individuals with disabilities and older adults.
  4. Support economic stability of residents by strengthening safety net programs, expanding access to affordable healthy food options, and partnering to address systemic issues such as employment opportunities and childcare options.
  5. Improve public infrastructure that connects communities to resources that support healthy living and public safety.

Florida CHARTS

Florida’s Community Health Assessment Resource Tool (CHARTS) is a one-stop website for public health statistics and community health data in Florida. It provides access to a wide range of information, including health statistics like births, deaths, disease rates, population data, and behavioral risk factors