Revere survey aims to assess quality of life, health in city

REVERE – The city of Revere, Revere CARES and MGH are coming together to launch a public survey to find out about the quality of life in Revere and health of city residents.The survey can be taken online and by paper and pen, and is 100 percent anonymous.Mayor Dan Rizzo urges residents to participate.?We want to know what you think about life in this city. Now is the time for Revere residents to have their say about the quality of life issues they care most about,” Rizzo said in a press release.The goal of the survey, according to the press release, is to “produce a comprehensive picture of Revere?s overall health” and a plan for improvement. There are specific questions the survey seeks answers to, including “What is the quality of life in our community?” and “What are the most important health factors affecting Revere residents today?”Kitty Bowman, director of Revere CARES, said in the release, “Over the next six months, we will work with the community to review data and talk with people to be sure we are addressing the public health issues that matter most to them.”Bowman told the Item, “It is a process to come up with a plan to serve the entire community. We want to know what Revere?s strengths are and what the challenges are that Revere faces.”Some of the questions are do you agree or disagree that Revere is a good place to grow old or raise children. Others focus on more physical matters.?For example, we would like to know the rate of heart disease in the city compared to the state average,” Bowman said.Bowman said questions about the quality of life in the city are just as important as the health factors affecting residents. “I know many people don?t consider that stuff health-related but studies show that does affect your health drastically,” she said.The survey ends on April 13 and once they collect and examine the data, a plan of action will be made. “We will present what we learned from the survey in a public meeting and make some priorities,” Bowman said. “From those priorities we will make a plan.”Bowman said that for the past 15 years Revere CARES has tried to reduce substance abuse among youth and recently made childhood obesity a top priority.However, she said she couldn?t predict what residents were most worried about. “Medical people like to think they know what the problem is but we don?t live in the community. Those who do live there understand and know the answers,” Bowman said.?That is why this survey is so important,” Bowman added. “We can look at the data all day but this helps us find out what people think is important.”To complete the survey please click on: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RevereQualityofLifeSurveyEmailSara Brown can be reached at [email protected].