Wasatch County residents and youth under the age of 18 are reporting poor mental health, according to a Community Health Needs Assessment from the Wasatch County Health Department.
The community health report identifies health trends across Utah and Wasatch County and studies economics, food insecurity, health behaviors, youth health behaviors and health access. The most recent study was conducted between 2023 and 2025.
About 14% of adults self-reported they have poor mental health. Just over 18% of adults have been told by a doctor they have a depressive disorder. That’s a concern, according to Wasatch County Health Department Director Jonelle Fitzgerald.
“We don’t want to see anyone struggling with poor health and poor mental health or thoughts of suicide,” Fitzgerald said.
And loneliness is on the rise among adults and youth populations. A 2025 Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) survey found that a quarter of students feel left out and lonely even when people are with them.
Though suicide attempts have decreased among youth across the state, about 50% to 60% of students reported feeling moderate depressive symptoms.
Social media is a problem among youth as well. Nearly half of students surveyed found that screen time has gotten in the way of sleep, family time and school. About 40% of students feel that social media contributed to them feeling worse about their body.
In adults, social isolation contributes to greater health issues. The health needs assessment indicates that there has been a decline in social connection across the state, which can increase the likelihood of an early death and cause health impacts that are “equal to or worse than smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
Fitzgerald said that the Health Department started recognizing suicide as a rising cause of death about 15 to 20 years ago.
“(We started) recognizing that’s something that we needed to watch in public health,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s something that we are considering more and more, and it’s not new, but it’s something that we’re always trying to figure out how to do better and how to help better.”
But overall, Fitzgerald said, the needs assessment survey results were not surprising. The top three causes of death — cancer, heart disease and accidents — are consistent with what she has seen in the past.
“That’s been trending for a lot of years now, but those things are still concerning and still something that we care about, and we want to consider upstream approaches to encourage healthy eating and physical activity and managing diabetes,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said the Health Department will continue to keep an eye on physical health. Another concerning trend to watch is domestic violence. That’s especially in regard to youth. The study shows an increase in toxic and violent dating relationships among 12th graders in Wasatch County.
The Wasatch County Health Department partners with organizations like Peace House to better handle domestic violence cases.
Next steps for the Health Department include talking with community partners to dissect how they can be best supported. Now that the data has been collected, the Wasatch County Health Department will begin to analyze how to use those numbers to combat health issues across the county.
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