For the third consecutive year, residents of St. Louis have recognized firearm violence as the primary health issue in the area. However, recent data from iHeard St. Louis — a project of the Health Communication Research Laboratory at Washington University’s School of Public Health — indicates an increasing focus on mental well-being.

The information is drawn from iHeard’s yearly July survey targeting adults in St. Louis and St. Louis County. Annually, locals are requested to identify the most pressing health challenges in the region from a selection of 21 topics, along with the option to provide other responses.

Although firearm violence continues to lead the list, the proportion of participants mentioning it has decreased — from 70% in 2023 to 44% this year. Concurrently, the urgency surrounding mental health has intensified, with 35% identifying it as a primary issue — an increase from 27% in each of the preceding two years.

For the first time, substance abuse and overdoses have placed in the top three concerns, recognized by 21% of those surveyed.

Food insecurity, a new addition to this year’s poll, was reported by 8% of residents — signaling heightened awareness regarding hunger and access to healthy foods.

“The increasing prominence of mental health as a significant concern among St. Louisans is clear,” remarked Matthew W. Kreuter, the initiator of iHeard and the Kahn Family Professor of Public Health at WashU. “When this is coupled with concerns about substance dependency, misuse, and overdoses, it reveals a lot about what local community members perceive our health priorities should entail.”

In the aftermath of several catastrophic tornadoes, 6% of respondents cited severe weather as a primary worry. Cancer, which had previously secured a spot in the top rankings, entirely vanished from the top 10, perhaps indicating heightened concern over more immediate dangers such as violence, addiction, and natural calamities.

Here are the 10 most frequently mentioned health issues from this year’s survey:

• Gun violence (44%)
• Mental health (35%)
• Drug misuse/overdose (21%)
• Access to health care (19%)
• Obesity (11%)
• Food insecurity (8%)
• Heart disease (7%)
• Traffic safety (7%)
• Extreme weather (6%)
• Diabetes (6%)

The survey conducted from July 19-21 involved 188 adults from St. Louis and St. Louis County, achieving a 90% response rate. Participants belong to the iHeard panel — a continuous group of over 200 residents who voluntarily engage in weekly mobile surveys regarding local health topics.

Now in its fourth year, this panel provides a consistent, week-to-week insight into what St. Louisans are perceiving, believing, and prioritizing regarding their health. This framework enables researchers to monitor changes in public sentiment with a high level of reliability. iHeard also conducts surveys among panelists in Georgia, Mississippi, Nebraska, and North Carolina.

What is iHeard St. Louis?

Enhancing health knowledge and fostering trust in communities represents one of the most pressing challenges confronting public health today — and iHeard St. Louis is at the forefront of a data-driven response.

Initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic, iHeard initially aided health authorities in swiftly addressing vaccine misinformation. Since then, the program has expanded its scope. It has received backing from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and scaled up to seven states, with St. Louis serving as the national center for survey formulation, data interpretation, and message creation.

The listening-first model utilized by iHeard begins with an environmental scanning team at WashU that monitors media headlines and social networks to uncover emerging health concerns.

To gain deeper insights into public awareness, beliefs, inquiries, and worries, the team conducts weekly polls on both current headlines and persistent health matters, such as: Are black cooking utensils safe? Is fluoride in drinking water hazardous? What are the most prevalent symptoms of a heart attack?

Based on the results, the team generates infographics, alerts, and social media materials, which are distributed to more than 200 community organizations in St. Louis, including health departments, for rapid and widespread dissemination of factual information.

“Typically, we associate health exposures with toxins, viruses, or long-term exposure to things like cigarette smoke,” explained Kreuter. “However, information itself also constitutes an exposure — both accurate and misleading information. Our previous interpretations of exposure to misinformation in public health have been somewhat oversimplified — viewing it as either exposed or not exposed to incorrect claims. What we are discovering is that some individuals encounter misinformation repeatedly.

“If public health aims to combat misinformation effectively, it will require a sustained effort,” he concluded.

Click here to register for weekly iHeard St. Louis updates.

The article Gun violence remains top St. Louis public health concern, but mental health, addiction rising appeared originally on The Source.