EVERETT — For the second straight year, Snohomish County residents’ health is more polarized, according to an annual poll.
More people reported they’re “struggling.”
More people also reported they’re “flourishing.”
But overall, self-reported well-being was on the decline, and if it were an overall grade, it would be a “D+,” according to the Countywide Health and Well-Being Monitor. The annual survey scores different aspects of health, including the physical, financial and emotional.
Over half of the residents who completed this year’s survey provided low scores for their health and well-being. Specifically, relationship, job and financial satisfaction have declined this year.
The overall score has declined since 2021, according to the report. Two years ago, 11% of residents provided all low scores, considered “struggling.” This year, 20% of residents were considered struggling.
Meanwhile, the number of people “flourishing” grew each year over the same time span, from 8% to 10% to 14%.
Since 2021, the percentage of people saying they were somewhere in the middle has dropped notably, from 81% to 65%.
“I don’t know if it’s a new normal,” said Jessica Burt, senior director of Providence Institute for a Healthier Community, which administers the survey. “Things are lower in some indicators, or the same in others, as they were in 2020. Any bounce back that we saw in 2021 has not been sustained.”
Burt said this is likely because of the lingering impact of COVID-19 — and now pandemic resources, such as federal relief dollars, are drying up.
Burt will present the full report at the annual Edge of Amazing event on Wednesday. Initially a launching pad for the institute, the event is a platform for information, networking and collaboration across the health care industry.
Residents reported some improvements in the latest survey: Overall, they’re more likely to practice self-advocacy in a health care setting, experience less discrimination and think the county is a good place to raise a family.
Nearly 700 people responded to the survey, mailed to a random sample of the county’s 834,000 residents.
The survey asks residents about six dimensions of their health and well-being:
• Relationships and social connections;
• Mental and emotional health;
• Security and basic needs;
• Neighborhood and environment;
• Work, learning and growth;
• Physical health.
Residents consider their physical health as the biggest factor in their overall health and well-being, according to the survey. Poor physical health is tied to financial and work strain, Burt said.
“It’s all interrelated,” she said.
Half of residents who completed the survey reported problems accessing basic needs such as health care and food.
The survey results guide Providence’s three-year Community Health Needs Assessment and hospital requirements.
“Not only does it show where the greatest needs are in our community, it also shows which areas our efforts are most likely to have a positive impact on well-being,” Kristy Carrington, CEO of Providence Swedish North Puget Sound, said in a press release.
Burt said the institute wants to share information about “what it takes to flourish.”
“You have to start at the level where people feel like they can make an impact,” she said.
Sydney Jackson: 425-339-3430; sydney.jackson@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @_sydneyajackson.
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