SVMC Community Health Needs Assessment 2021 - Catalog - Page 23
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Community Health Needs
Leveraging the data sources highlighted in the Methodology section above, this assessment seeks to
identify and quantify the health needs facing the residents of SVMC’s service area. While “health” is
frequently conceptualized relative to medical care, the determinants of one’s health are multifaceted
and extend far beyond the walls of a hospital. Research consistently indicates that clinical care
constitutes between 10% and 20% of the determinants of quality and length of life. The graphic below,
adapted from the County Health Rankings model, illustrates the other factors that play an integral role
in influencing health outcomes.12
Physical Environment
10%
Health Behaviors
30%
Determinants of
Health
Clinical Care
20%
Socioeconomic Factors
40%
While the diagram above indicates the portion of one’s health that can be determined by each domain,
it does not illustrate the inextricable links and bi-directional interplay between each domain. To that
end, SVMC has created a framework by which health outcomes can be understood as a function of
varying factors that are ultimately underpinned by the economic environment, and one’s ability to
achieve financial stability. In turn, financial stability can afford (but by no means guarantees) one’s
ability to live in a safe physical environment, to function within a supportive community and social
environment, to access high-quality education from early childhood through advanced degrees, and to
12
County Health Rankings Model. University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute: School of Medicine and Public Health
with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/explore-healthrankings/measures-data-sources/county-health-rankings-model
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center
Community Health Needs Assessment 2021