Shasta County residents are more likely to breathe clean air and graduate from high school than people statewide, but they’re also more likely to smoke, drink, live in poverty and lack access to healthy foods, according to a comprehensive health report released today.
The third annual County Health Rankings, created by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, ranks the overall health of counties across America by measuring how healthy people are and how long they live. The report shows how the places where people live, learn, work and play influence health just as much as regular medical care.
“This helps us see what is making our residents sick and where we need to improve,” said Shasta County Public Health Director Donnell Ewert, MPH. “It’s more than just a report on our rates of birth, death and disease. It starts to get at the heart of what truly makes us healthy.”
Of the 56 counties ranked in California, Shasta County ranked 43nd in overall health, measured by:
- Rate of people dying before age 75
- Percent of people who report being in fair or poor health
- Number of days people report being in poor physical health
- Number of days people report being in poor mental health
- Rate of low-birth weight infants
However, Shasta County fell to 40 out of 56 counties when measuring these factors, which also affect people’s health:
- Health behavior
- Clinical care
- Social and economic factors
- Physical environment
“Much of what influences our health happens outside the doctor’s office, like our levels of education, our income, and access to healthy foods,” Ewert said.
Some highlights from the report include:
Shasta County exceeds the state average when it comes to premature death.
Shasta County also has more students graduating from high school, though its unemployment rate and number of children in poverty is higher. Sixty-three percent of residents have had some college education. Other local data reveals that Shasta County residents have a low rate of four-year college degrees.
Air pollution is dramatically lower than the state average, but Shasta County residents aren’t nearly as likely to have access to healthy foods.
Shasta County has a much lower rate of sexually transmitted infections, and its teen birth rate is on par with the state. However, Shasta has a high rate of obesity, excessive drinking, car crashes and smoking.
Efforts to combat some of these issues – such as unemployment and poverty – are under way locally. The Reach Higher Shasta collaborative aims to foster a community that encourages people to obtain more education after high school. By 2014, half of the new jobs will require some form of college education and that will increase in the years to come. The collaborative of educators and health professionals are starting by increasing the academic rigor for students and building a stronger bridge for students to transfer to Shasta College, CSU Chico and other higher educational opportunities. In addition, businesses, organizations and parents have a role to play in preparing our youth for further education after high school.
“People from public health, health care, business, education and government sectors increasingly understand the factors that influence the health of our community, so we can work together to create community conditions that help people lead healthier lives,” said Shasta County Public Health Director Donnell Ewert.
To view the rankings, go to www.countyhealthrankings.org. To learn more about Reach Higher Shasta, visit http://www.reachhighershasta.com/.
-from press release
