Dallas County’s 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment has identified behavioral health and mental wellness as “the top priority in Dallas County,” with worsening outcomes and urgent community calls for action. Both Dallas County Health and Human Services and Parkland Health published the report, which will guide their decisions over the next three years. More than half of Dallas County ZIP codes reported an increase in residents reporting poor mental health compared to the previous assessment from 2022. This surge was compounded by a 99% increase in drug overdose deaths from 2016 to 2023, highlighting what the report terms an “urgent need” for behavioral health services that are integrated into routine care and community-based solutions.
The assessment found that community members are calling for more accessible, culturally responsive mental health care within their neighborhoods and better coordination among health care providers, social services, and community organizations. Beyond behavioral health, chronic diseases including heart disease and cancer continue to drive mortality and morbidity in Dallas County, creating a “long-term burden” on communities, families, and the health care system. Residents identified health care access as a “critical barrier,” emphasizing the importance of both availability and acceptability of services.
Access and Infrastructure Gaps
Parkland Health recently announced plans to open a new primary care clinic in southeast Dallas County, an area the report found has a “disproportionate burden” of chronic disease. The assessment identified acceptability—how well care aligns with cultural values, social norms, and personal preferences—as the leading factor influencing health care choices and usage. “Feeling understood and respected by healthcare providers and healthcare workers is seen as the first step in building trust,” the report stated. Dallas County reports lower vaccination rates than surrounding counties, with only 90% of kindergarteners vaccinated against measles, below the 95% threshold needed to contain infection spread.
Community members identified food insecurity, housing, and transportation as critical infrastructure needs, particularly in vulnerable areas like southeast Dallas County. These factors directly influence health care access, chronic disease management, and overall wellbeing. While chlamydia and gonorrhea cases have declined, persistent disparities remain, with Black residents accounting for 34% of chlamydia diagnoses and 42% of gonorrhea cases. Dallas County’s HIV prevalence rate is nearly double that of Texas. The report emphasized that “addressing these infrastructure gaps is essential to advancing health equity and improving outcomes.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.keranews.org/health-wellness/2026-04-14/dallas-county-2025-community-health-needs-assessment-parkland-dchhs