Charting the Course 2000-2010 

Overall Project Vision: Health and human services throughout Stanly County are provided in the most rational, coordinated, and focused manner possible, with full program effectiveness to all citizens needing such support and with strong program accountability to all funding sources.

  Stanly County Health & Human Services Community Needs Assessment Survey Results and Analysis

The analysis was overseen by a Steering Committee composed of representatives of the United Way of Stanly County, the Partnership for Children, Stanly County Department of Social Services, Stanly County Health Department, Stanly Memorial Hospital and other organizations.  The Committee selected Charlotte-based Scope View Strategic Advantage, then known as Strategic Developmental Services, to carry out the work and to prepare the comprehensive final report and analysis.

Between March and July 2000, 1,067 Stanly County citizens completed the Health and Human Services Survey that had been reviewed, modified and adopted by the Task Force in February. Of this total, 944 completed the form "in person" in a group setting, while the other 123 were taken and filed on-line at the web site of the Stanly County Department of Social Services or one of the cooperating organizations.

Approximately one in every forty-four local residents thus directly participated in the survey process. Considerable care was taken to insure that not only was the sample deep in terms of numbers, but also that those taking part were drawn from all segments of the county-- including geography, ethnicity, race, gender and age. Meetings were held in each municipality and in a number of unincorporated areas.

In the final analysis, the makeup of the participants generally reflected the makeup of Stanly County in many key aspects:

Male:  47.3%                Female: 52.7%

White: 85.0%                Black: 11.3%                Hispanic: 2.4%                Asian: 1.3%

While the gender division skews slightly to the female side, the racial percentages conform quite closely to the best estimates from the North Carolina Office of State Planning and the U.S. Census Bureau as to Stanly County’s current resident composition.

It should be noted that a number of participants did not fill out the demographic parts of the survey related to race or ethnicity, and that others did not indicate gender. With the exception of the material related to averages for the overall responses, then, the tables and charts that follow do not wholly reflect all forms completed. Still, the substantial number of forms did have all sections completed, and the information presented is statistically valid.

Overall Rating of the Community.

Participants were first asked to rate their community as a place to live by this system: 1= Excellent; 2 = Good;3 = Fair; and 4 = Poor. Unlike the rest of the averages generated by the survey, in this case the lower the number, the better the community is rated. The results overall and by community segment were:

Overall: 2.150. 

Whites: 2.015.     Blacks: 2.383.     Hispanics: 2.676.     Asians: 2.400. 

Males: 2.114.     Females: 2.236.

Participants were then requested to prioritize thirty-one community needs categories from the perspective of existing conditions in Stanly County. It is important to emphasize that the question was not whether an individual category is important, but rather how well that issue is currently being handled, and whether it does in fact constitute a real problem.

The following rating system was used:

1 = Not A Problem.

2 = Minor Problem.

3 = Moderate Problem.

4 = Major Problem.

"Don’t Know" could also be given as the answer.

If a respondent thought that an issue like "Public Education K-12" is critical to the county’s future, but also thought it is being very well handled, then the appropriate rating would have been a 1 or a 2. The higher the average number for a need, the greater the problem.

Participants were then asked to use a similar process to rate barriers to services– those potential or actual problems that might prevent people from using existing services that are available to them.

The rating system was:

1 = Not Serious.

2 = Somewhat Serious.

3 =Moderately Serious.

4 = Very Serious.

"Don’t Know" was again a possible response. As before, the higher the average, the bigger is the problem.

A third portion of the survey dealt with health education matters, and was developed for the most part by representatives of Stanly Memorial Hospital. It asked that respondents rate their interest in a series of potential education topics, delivery methods, timing and costs. These results are contained in the full report, but are not given in this Executive Summary.

With a base of some 1,000 participants, the difference of any one respondent choosing one number higher or lower than the next closest number equates to a difference in the overall average for that issue of .001. For example:

1,000 participants x 3 as an average rank = 3,000. 3,000/1,000 = 3.000 as an average.

(900 participants x 3) + (100 participants x 2) = 2,900. 2,900/1,000 = 2.900 as an average.

(990 participants x 3) + (10 participants x 2) = 2,990. 2,990/1,000 = 2.990 as an average.

(999 participants x 3) + (1 participant x 2) = 2,999. 2,999/1,000 = 2.999 as an average.

A difference of a tenth of a point (.1), then, between the average score of two needs areas is the equivalent of a one point difference of opinion between 100 respondents, or a two point difference between 50 respondents or some similar combination. Any difference six hundredth of a point (.06) or more represents a real separation of need areas. Anything of three hundredth of a point (.03) or less is insignificant.

[The tables and charts that immediately follow this page show the results of the needs prioritization, and the ranking of the barriers to service. Summary results are given for overall responses, and then broken down by racial and ethnic segments.]

1. "Inadequate Public Transportation" was the dominant top priority in the rating of problems and in the barriers to services portions of the survey.

It was the third highest problem area overall, and ranked #3 by Whites, #7 by Blacks, #2 by Hispanics, and #10 by Hispanics. It was the only one of the thirty-one listed needs that ranked in each of these group’s top ten needs. In the Barriers to Service section, it was #1 overall, #4 with Whites, #1 with Blacks, #1 with Hispanics and #4 with Asians. Not surprisingly, it was ranked as a higher need by those outside the Albemarle zip codes than with those living within.

Focus group discussions, survey notes and other comments made it clear that this was not a negative feeling for the Stanly County Umbrella Services Agency (SCUSA), which carries out transportation programs in such areas as Medicaid, elderly and disabled and some general public support as well as contracted services. Indeed, SCUSA was well regarded for what it accomplishes. Rather, the low rating reflects the limited services that can be provided under existing funding arrangements, and the distance from some service providers to consumers– especially outside of Albemarle proper.

2. The Black, Hispanic, and Asian populations of Stanly County view almost all needs as having greater intensity than do Whites.

Differences of .3 and more between Whites and others were not uncommon, even when all groups placed the same needs area in a similar ranking as compared to other needs. For example, the ratings for "Drug Abuse" showed it to be the #1 problem area for Whites, #2 for Blacks, and #2 for Asians. The category had a 3.031 average by Whites, a 3.455 average by Blacks, and a 3.486 by Asians. The issue was rated only #12 by Hispanics, but still had a 3.382 average– 11.6% higher than it was rated by White participants. It had the third highest rating among all respondents.

3. There is a clear recognition of the growing diversity of Stanly’s population.

"Language Barriers" was ranked as the # 2 barrier to service by Hispanics, and #1 by Asians and #6 by Blacks. Overall, it ranked third. Even Whites ranked it #1 service barrier.

4. Illiteracy is a major problem for the Hispanic and Asian populations of Stanly County.

Both groups rated this area as its top problem. There is a clear need for increased participation in English as a Second Language initiatives as well as for service providers to have translation abilities in-house.

5. There is general agreement geographically across the county as to the top priority needs and barriers to service.

There was very strong concurrence throughout Stanly County geographically on the needs rankings. Only in the above noted area of "Transportation" was any discernable difference identified.

6. Local elected officials share the same basic concerns as the citizens they represent.

There was a very positive correlation between general rankings and the weight assigned to those rankings by elected officials taking part in the survey and by citizens at large.

7. Men and women generally see things the same way.

Gender responses differed on certain issues, but overall closely coincided. Each group had eight common needs in its top ten– Drug Abuse, Teen Pregnancy, Inadequate Transportation, Not Enough After School Programs, Alcoholism, Crime, Shortage of Affordable Housing, and Insufficient Support for the Elderly.

8. There is a fairly high degree of lack of knowledge about a moderate number of certain needs areas in the county.

"Don’t know" was a frequent response to some problem areas by all groups surveyed– in some instances surprisingly so. Participants simply felt they didn’t know enough about the issue to give an informed rating.

9. Current "Emergency Care" and "Hospital Services" received strong votes of endorsement.

Virtually every population segment that took part in the survey rated these two areas as having the least problems. They were ranked #30 and #31 in need (out of 31 issues) by Whites and Blacks, Females and Males, #27 and #28 by Hispanics, and #25 and #29 by Asians. They were also the two lowest need areas overall.

10. Although the universe of internet participants was somewhat small, a case can be made that the so-called "digital divide" among racial and ethnic groups exists to some extent in Stanly County.

92% of those individuals completing the survey on the internet were White. 4.4% were Black– notably short of their percentage of the county’s population. The remaining 3.6% were Hispanic. No participants identified themselves as Asian. While web sites offer great long term potential as a health and human services information source, their limited delivery status should be carefully considered in any current educational activities aimed at particular target populations.