The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will conduct a statewide telephone survey for five weeks starting Monday July 15 to determine the public’s perception of the services and role of the state health department. Surveys will be 10 minutes in length and be completed through random digit dialing with 1,000 Kansas adults using landline and cellular phones.

Survey results will be used to help guide the development of an agency communications plan to be used, together with the agency strategic plan, in the future communication of health promotion and protection outreach efforts by KDHE. Survey reporting will also support the State Health Improvement Plan and ultimately the agency’s application for national accreditation to the Public Health Accreditation Board.

“To the Kansans who are randomly selected for this survey, I thank you in advance for your participation. While State and local agencies are reviewing Kansas’ leading health indicators and the capacity to address them, it’s imperative we assess the public perception of KDHE’s role and outreach to ensure there is effective communication to all stakeholders,” said Robert Moser, M.D., KDHE Secretary and State Health Officer. “Effectively communicating with Kansans about public health threats and wellness opportunities is crucial to improving health outcomes in our state.”

The KDHE Office of Communications is overseeing the survey project and the pending communications plan.

“The survey findings will benefit the work of every program across the agency. It’s vitally important to our agency’s mission that program directors in our public health, environment and health care finance divisions are able to use the information to help inform their public outreach,” said KDHE Communications Director Miranda Steele. “Even health agencies at the local level in Kansas can take advantage of the resulting KDHE communications plan, as they, too, depend on the same data to guide and support their public outreach initiatives.”

The survey implementation, analysis and report are supported by a federal grant to KDHE’s Center for Performance Management from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Public Health Improvement Initiative.