Alexandrians Say Mental Health One of City’s Biggest Challenges, Diversity One of Greatest Strengths
AHD Director Dr. David Rose on the results of a community-wide health survey
ALEXANDRIA, VA-Results from the Alexandria Health Department’s (AHD) 2024 community-wide health survey are in and show that mental health and drug addiction are some of the city’s major challenges, but diversity and opportunities to be involved are some of its greatest strengths. These findings will help guide the area’s health projects for the next five years.
“Mental health remains a top concern for many Alexandrians, regardless of income, geography, or race/ethnicity,” said AHD Director David Rose, MD, MBA. “If we want to make a meaningful difference in addressing health issues for different populations in our community, we have to start by listening to their concerns.”
Rose said that the AHD conducts this survey once every five years as part of its Community Health Assessment (CHA). These results and health data will help the community prioritize the issues from the CHA to develop a five-year Community Health Improvement Plan.
“We cannot make a plan to address health without hearing from the people who this impacts every day,” Rose said..
The survey was conducted in the fall of 2024 and asked residents to select Alexandria’s biggest health challenges and strengths, along with opportunities for improvement.
More than 2,000 people filled out the survey with 73% doing so on paper and 27% responding online. Of the respondents, 58% were women, 29% were foreign-born, and 217 people identified as LGBTQ+. In addition, 28% were white, 21% were Black or African American, 13% were Hispanic or Latino, and 7% were Asian.
While mental health was cited as the biggest health issue in the six of the city’s seven zip codes (and listed as the second largest challenge in the other one), the additional difficulties varied by demographic.
For example, the second greatest issue facing white residents was obesity, physical activity, and nutrition, compared to alcohol, drug, or opiate use in Black and Asian individuals and illnesses spread by insects in the Middle Eastern and North African populations.
“Violence and crime is the fourth response overall and is listed by a variety of languages, age groups, incomes, and education levels,” said Katelyn Mullins, MPH, a Community Health Epidemiologist with the AHD during a webinar announcing the findings. “Dental problems are a top health issue for community members speaking Spanish, Amharic, and Pashto, households making under $25,000 and between $50,000 and $100,000, and people with a high school education or less.”
Rose noted that the AHD will never be able to singularly address the specific needs of all the city’s 160,000 residents, “But we can use the results of our Community Health Assessment and work with residents to build a Community Health Improvement Plan that brings the right interventions and prevention efforts to where they are needed most.”
“This means partnering closely with nonprofits, other city agencies, businesses, civic associations, and others to develop targeted strategies for a community-wide effort. Everyone can make a difference in this work,” he added.
When asked to list the community’s greatest strengths, diversity of the community was the top response, followed by opportunities to be involved in- and belong to – the community, and educational opportunities. The fourth response was Alexandria being a good place for children, youth, and families to live, with other answers citing public transportation, parks, and safety.
“This tells us that our community really values social connection in Alexandria, so it might be that the strategies in the Community Health Improvement Plan build on neighbor relationships and working together to drive change,” Rose said.
While the survey is closed, he stressed that there is still time to weigh in on Alexandria’s health. Individuals who live or spend time near the Landmark/Van Dorn area are invited to attend a Community Walk and Talk on April 26, at 2 p.m., beginning at the ALIVE! Van Dorn Food Hub at 510-F S Van Dorn Street. People can RSVP online HERE.
“We will walk about a mile around the neighborhood to talk through what there is harming or helping people’s health. City staff from different departments will be available to answer questions about neighborhood issues as well,” Rose said
For the AHD, the next step in the CHA will be reviewing hundreds of data points to understand how Alexandrians are impacted by different health issues. The final report combining survey results with data analysis will be released at the end of June 2025.
“Then, we hope community members will join us and the Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria to develop the five-year Community Health Improvement Plan,” Rose said. “In the meantime, Alexandria Health Department staff will be popping up around the community to share the survey results.”
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