FEBRUARY 25, 2010 ISSUE
N.C. County Health Rankings
Overall, Watauga County ranks in the top 10 of the state for health outcomes, at No. 8 of the 100 counties, and in the top quarter of the state for health factors, at No. 16 of 100.
For the first time, residents can discover one more measure to compare the health of the community in Watauga County to other counties in the state. The above rankings are a part of a collaborative project conducted by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to ignite communities to become engaged in creating a healthier environment.
The rankings were developed with the use of available data in North Carolina and are separated into two primary categories: health outcomes and health factors. Researchers used five measures of overall health or “health outcomes” for counties: the rate of people dying before age 75, the percent of people who report being in fair or poor health, the numbers of days people report being in poor physical and mental health and the rate of low-birth weight infants.
The report then looked at factors that affect people’s health in four categories: health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment. Those factors included rates of adult smoking, adult obesity, binge drinking and teenage pregnancy; the number of uninsured adults, availability of primary care providers and preventable hospital stays; rates of high school graduation, number of children in poverty and rates of violent crime; access to healthy foods, air pollution levels and liquor store density.
Danny Staley, director of the Appalachian District Health Department, said, “While these measures don’t tell us everything, they clearly give us a new tool to look more closely at the factors that influence health. Where we live, work, play and pray matters to our health, and building an environment that is supportive of healthy people includes multiple factors that are outside of medical care.
“While this is positive news, there are still many health challenges we must face together,” Staley continued. “Even though Watauga County ranks well in North Carolina, our state is ranked 37th of our 50 states in the nation.
“Community health is owned by all of us, and it will take a collaborative effort to make positive change over time,” he said. “Appalachian District Health Department is committed to discussing with community members, leaders and elected officials both our successes and challenges while we link these issues with evidenced-based practices to focus on continual health improvement for our counties.”
For more information, click to www.countyhealthrankings.org.
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