TSET Healthy Living Program to use community feedback, public health data, for local strategies to improve wellness

September 10, 2021

Results from a recent Kiowa County survey show that about 94 percent of respondents consider unhealthy eating and poor nutrition to be “very serious” or “somewhat serious” health problems in Kiowa County communities. 77 percent of respondents would be more physically active if parks and recreational venues were safer.

These and other findings were gathered from a Comprehensive Community Needs Assessment conducted by the TSET Healthy Living Program serving Kiowa County. TSET HLP coordinators and community partners spent several months gathering input from local residents and collecting public health data, in order to develop strategies for improving wellness throughout the county, especially in areas that need it most.

“We spent a lot of time and effort on the assessment process in a very challenging year,” said Hannah McCollom, assistant program coordinator of the TSET HLP serving Kiowa County. “But the work was important to identify what steps we need to take as a community to improve the health of local residents.”

Year 1 of the TSET HLP’s five-year grant cycle, which began July 1, 2020 and ended June 30, was dedicated to a thorough assessment of tobacco use, nutrition access and physical activity environments within areas of the county with the poorest health outcomes. The program will spend the remaining four years working with community partners on implementing strategies to improve health outcomes as guided by the local data and public feedback.

TSET HLP coordinators are in the process of finalizing their implementation strategies with guidance from TSET program officers and the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

The wellness strategies selected specifically for Kiowa County will be announced later this summer once they are finalized. But for now, Hannah McCollom said TSET HLP coordinators and community partners are eager to share what they have learned with local residents as they prepare for the next phase of improving wellness in our area.

“We are so appreciative of our Community Collaborative group members, to everyone who participated in the survey and community listening sessions, and for the support we get from TSET,” Hannah said. “We look forward to working as a community to overcome barriers to healthy environments in our county so our families and neighbors can live longer and healthier.”

TSET – the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust – currently funds 28 Healthy Living Program grants that serve 30 counties throughout Oklahoma. The community-based grants work to prevent and reduce tobacco use and obesity rates through a data-driven approach that includes strategic actions and partnerships with businesses, cities and governments, community organizations and schools.

To learn more about the TSET HLP in Kiowa County or to get involved with the Kiowa County Collaborative Workgroup effort, contact Hannah McCollom at hannah@gpyfs.org or Julie Funkhouser at julie@gpyfs.org.