The 2012 County Health Rankings have just been published. The Rankings serve as an annual evaluation regarding key indicators that influence our health such as education and income levels, access to nutritious foods and medical care, as well as other lifestyle behaviors which affect our health.
The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) published these rankings which can be found at www.countyhealthrankings.org. They assess the overall health of nearly every county in the United States using standard methods for measuring how healthy people are. They consider four categories: “health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment.”
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of RWJF, states, “The County Health Rankings show us that much of what influences our health happens outside the doctor’s office. In fact where we live, learn, work and play has a big role in determining how healthy we are and how long we live.” Did you know even the number of fast food restaurants are measured?
I personally like comparing my county’s data with the national benchmark and my state. Because I live in north Galveston County near Harris County, I scrutinized both counties. Some of the numbers which jumped off the page were the following:
|
Galveston |
Harris |
National
Benchmark |
Texas | |
| Sexually
Transmitted Infections |
356 |
420 | 82 | 435 |
| Excessive
Drinking |
18% | 17% | 8% | 16% |
| Teen Birth
Rate |
59 | 63 | 22 | 63 |
| Fast Food
Restaurants |
50% | 52% | 25% | 53% |
Harris County, with Houston’s medical center being the largest medical center in the world, surprisingly weighed in at only 962 people: 1 primary care provider vs. the national benchmark 631: 1. Galveston was better with 585:1. It is essential to have sufficient availability to primary care physicians so that people can get preventative and primary care and if needed referrals made for specialty care.
In actuality the two counties’ numbers appeared similar to the state of Texas’ findings so we’re pretty typical Texans. But that doesn’t mean much if you look at the national benchmarks. About half the categories could be improved upon if we chose to do so. Houston ranked 53 in Texas counties and Galveston ranked 86 out of 221 counties studied.
The most remarkable part of this study is that this year the County Health Roadmaps program was formed for the purpose of guiding counties in creating healthier communities. It takes leaders from multiple fields such as healthcare, government officials, employers, and educators working collaboratively to execute the plan. However, the Roadmaps to Health Action Center provides the necessary tools to be successful.
In addition a Roadmap to Health Prize will be awarded to six winning communities. They will be recognized for bettering their residents’ health by receiving a no-strings-attached $25,000 cash prize in early 2013! Applications can be accessed online.
While this is a huge undertaking, I believe our county has a running start. There is a group of senior citizens called the “red shirts,” out line dancing 5-6 nights a week. Apparently they’ve already started addressing “physical inactivity!”