2025 Children's of Alabmama Community Health Needs Assessment

However, for this CHNA, Children’s strategically narrowed the analysis to the immediate statistical area surrounding the main down town campus—the Birmingham Metropolitan Statistical Area (Birmingham MSA), encompassing the counties of Jefferson, Shelby, Blount, Bibb, St. Clair, Chilton, and Walker. This focused approach enables a deeper, more actionable examination of local health determinants, resource gaps, and social vul nerabilities that disproportionately impact children in this densely populated hub. By prioritizing granular data from this core region, Children’s can identify targeted priorities, forge stronger community partnerships, and drive evidence-based interventions that serve as scalable models for the wider statewide footprint. This methodology aligns with IRS guidelines for CHNAs, ensuring the assessment is both comprehensive and pragmatically impactful, ultimately benefiting children and families throughout Alabama. Just over 55% of respondents reported living in the Birmingham MSA, and 43% lived outside the Birmingham MSA. County residency could not be determined by 2% of respondents. The Alabama Rural Health Association, based on 2023 guidance from the White House Office of Management and Budget, classifies 12 counties as urban: Calhoun, Etowah, Houston, Jefferson, Lauderdale, Lee, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery, Morgan, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa Counties.

Sixty-eight percent of respondents reported living in urban counties, compared to 29.6% in a rural county.

FOCUS GROUPS

PARCA staff conducted three focus groups, one with community leaders, educators, and nurses in Pickens County; one with patients and community members at a Cahaba Valley Healthcare Clinic in west Birmingham; and one with students from Birmingham City Schools. One additional focus group was conducted with student members of the William A. Daniel, Jr. Adolescent Clinic’s Youth Advi sory Board and facilitated by staff from the UAB Department of Pediatrics , with written guidance provided by PARCA staff.

Focus group insights appear throughout the report, but full analysis is in the final section of the report.

SECONDARY DATA

The needs assessment is not a comprehensive analysis of secondary data regarding children’s health. Rather, secondary data is consid ered to put community responses in context. A variety of sources were consulted, including the Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Feeding America, VOICES for Alabama’s Children, and the Jefferson County Department of Health.

Children’s of Alabama, 2025 CHNA

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