Community Health Profile

In 2005, the NH Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) awarded the City of Portsmouth a grant to establish a New Hampshire Public Health Network similar to other regional health networks across the State. The purpose of the network grant program is to develop regional approaches to emergency response and public health planning. The Greater Portsmouth Public Health Network (GPPHN) incorporates the City of Portsmouth, and the towns of New Castle, Rye, Newington, and Greenland.

The Greater Portsmouth Public Health Network completed the Center for Disease Control’s Local Public Health Assessment in May 2005; participants prioritized four Essential Services that became the Public Health Improvement Plan’s (PHIP) Scope of Work. One of the priorities was to Monitor Health Status by obtaining data that provides information on the communities’ health. The GPPHN decided that the development of this data, would take the form of a Community Health Profile.

The Community Health Profile was developed by the Community Health Institute. This profile uses available data to paint a picture of who is living in the Greater Portsmouth communities and seeks to identify the leading health issues facing residents. It is our hope that the information presented in this profile will be useful as agencies focus on individual organizational strategic planning initiatives and work towards improving the health of all residents