Alert:
Fairfax County is a place where all people can attain their highest level of health and well-being.
Indicators of Success:
Data Dashboards are being developed for the ten Community Outcome Areas, each with headline metrics that are visually presented to easily review the data that will continuously inform the Countywide Strategic Plan.
The interactive dashboard below provides an overview of the fifteen headline metrics for Healthy Communities and enables the reader to access more detailed data and a narrative for context and clarity. Headline metrics for the remaining outcome areas are in progress. Data will be reviewed regularly to assess trends, inequities, and alignment with the strategies included in the plan.
For more information on community health be sure to check out the following:
Each of the ten community outcome areas will have its own dashboard that highlights headline metrics. These metrics will inform and guide community leaders, practitioners and advocates in making data driven decisions. To help the community understand and navigate the dashboard, a tutorial video has been created using Healthy Communities as an example.
Fairfax County is committed to providing equitable access to affordable healthcare and healthy living opportunities, allowing all residents to attain their full health potential. Health and well-being are influenced by a wide range of social and economic factors, health behaviors, access to services and environmental quality. For some people, the essential elements for a healthy life are readily available; for others, the opportunities for healthy choices are significantly limited.
It is important to recognize that disparities exist, and have been highlighted and exacerbated by the recent pandemic, especially for people of color who are at a higher risk of COVID-19 due to a multitude of related issues. These include a greater likelihood of underlying health conditions that make some residents more prone to contracting the virus, higher rates of employment in public-facing service jobs, and residing in high-density, multifamily living units which contribute to the spread of communicable diseases.
The strategies in this section seek to advance equitable health outcomes by examining what specific changes in the social determinants of health, the community, and healthy living resources can be made to improve health and wellness for all, especially those who are most vulnerable and have been disproportionately affected, including older adults and children.
Note: The Environment and Energy community outcome area was originally combined with Healthy Communities, but these two areas were separated to ensure adequate focus on each. Therefore, one of the first steps of the implementation process will be to crosswalk the following proposed strategies with countywide plans that are focused on community health, and to make necessary adjustments to ensure total integration and alignment of related work.
The Healthy Communities dashboard focuses on metrics that Fairfax County Government leaders have reviewed and selected to be monitored throughout the implementation of the Countywide Strategic Plan and to inform decision-making. The dashboard provides analysis of the data in a “story behind the numbers” with contextual details to help its users understand the figures and their trends, as well as any implications and importance of the health topics covered. The Healthy Communities dashboard highlights any health outcome disparities across the various segments of the County’s population.
The Live Healthy Fairfax Community Health Dashboard (CHD) has been in existence for several years and contains a wider range of metrics than the Healthy Communities dashboard. The CHD also includes data for the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, the Fairfax Health District and the Northern Virginia region, where available. While the Community Health Dashboard offers links to best practices and data sources, no analytical contextual information or “story” are featured.
These proposed strategies were developed based on the extensive background work completed by the Countywide Strategic Planning Teams. As previously noted, these strategies will be aligned with related work under the Environmental Committee.
NOTE: Strategies have been re-ordered to fit within their related Indicators of Community Success. Strategies with the * symbol have been added to include recommendations from the Chairman's Task Force on Equity and Opportunity.
Access to Health Services
Improving Physical and Behavioral Health Conditions
Promoting Health-Related Behaviors