POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A community health assessment shows the top health and social concerns in Powhatan County are mental health and financial insecurity. The two could be the cause and effect of each other. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) in the Chesterfield Health District started working on the assessment in 2024 surveying 406 residents. Those residents said over half of the top health challenges are stress (32%) and mental health (29%), which could be caused by that financial insecurity (21%).  27% said none. The third top health challenge is overweight or obesity (20%) and then chronic diseases (20%). Bon Secours and Powhatan’s Community Action Agency performed studies that got similar results. Jessie Brennan, Population Health Community Coordinator with VDH, worked on the assessment and said Powhatan is not an outlier in comparison to the rest of the state.   “In our region, mental health comes up on most if not all community health assessments," she said. "It’s like the number one priority that we’re sharing across the board.”   Why is this happening? Brennan said it's hard to give one sweeping answer, but predicts social media and a post-COVID cloud hanging over heads as people have become more inward.   “We know that loneliness is a pandemic," she said. According to the American Psychological Association, six in 10 adults say they feel isolated or lack companionship.   VDH, Powhatan residents and different community groups will meet in March to discuss how the biggest impact can be made to decrease mental health challenges.   “The county as a whole is very aware of the mental health challenges that residents are facing and are wanting to approach mental health in a really proactive way," Brennan said.   This was the first health assessment VDH has ever done focused on specifically Powhatan. Brennan said it's looking like they’ll do one in the county every five years.  ...read more read less