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MORGANTOWN -- The Mountain State Assessment of Trends in Community Health, a new biennial West Virginia population-based health survey dubbed M.A.T.C.H., will gather information to help health officials and policy makers better understand the critical health needs of all 55 West Virginia counties, with the goal of directing resource allocation to communities that need them most.
M.A.T.C.H. is a partnership between the West Virginia University Office of Health Affairs and four West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources bureaus (Medical Services, Behavioral Health, Children and Families, and Public Health).
The survey, which will be distributed throughout the state through December, will collect information about general physical wellness, ability to access needed health care, chronic diseases and their impact on general wellness, food security, financial stability and mental well-being. The results will be shared with health departments, non-profit organizations and other state leaders to better inform decision-making.
"Data-driven decision-making leads to better health policy, and better health policy leads to healthier West Virginians," said Dr. Summer Hartley, principal investigator of the project and assistant vice president for the Office of Health Affairs. "The M.A.T.C.H. survey will yield data essential for ensuring that health resources reach our communities most in need."
The M.A.T.C.H. team aims to collect accurate information for all 55 counties. About 88,000 surveys will be mailed to randomly selected West Virginia households.
About 7 percent, or one in every 14 adult West Virginia residents will be sampled. If a household is selected to participate, they will receive an invitation with a choice on how they would like to complete the survey, either online, by mail or by phone. The survey will take 35-55 minutes to complete.
The information collected in this survey is confidential and no identifiable data is retained or used in any reports. The survey also has been reviewed and approved by WVU's Institutional Review Board, which is responsible for protecting the rights of survey participants.
Participation is voluntary. Taking or not taking the survey will not change any state benefits received now or in the future.
"As a native West Virginian, I encourage all those selected to participate in the M.A.T.C.H. survey to help WVU and the WV Department of Health and Human Resources use data to build a healthier West Virginia," Hartley said.
Results of the survey will be available in 2022 on the M.A.T.C.H. website.
To learn more, go to WVmatchsurvey.org, call 304-581-1928 or email WVmatchsurvey@hsc.wvu.edu.