Results from 843 participants in Dosher Memorial Hospital’s triennial community health needs assessment conducted in spring 2018 shows that nearly 48 percent indicated chronic disease is the “biggest” health con­cern for the community, down from about 68 percent reported in 2015, a news release said.
 
“An alarming increase in another major health concern is drug/alcohol abuse, which was reported by nearly 30 percent of participants compared to 13 percent in 2015,” the release stated.
 
Mental health as a concern also saw a dramatic increase from 1.5 percent three years ago to more than 5 percent in 2018.
 
The analysis was recently present­ed to the hospital board of trustees and members of the Brunswick Wellness Coalition. The Brunswick Wellness Coalition is scheduled to present an implementation strategy of the survey results to the hospital’s board in early 2019, the release said.