PLATTE COUNTY HAS THE HEALTHIEST RESIDENTS IN MISSOURI AND PEMISCOT COUNTY IS THE LEAST HEALTHY COUNTY IN THE STATE, ACCORDING TO A NEW REPORT RELEASED TODAY BY THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S POPULATION HEALTH INSTITUTE AND THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION.
THE COUNTY HEALTH RANKINGS ARE THE FIRST TO RANK THE OVERALL HEALTH OF THE COUNTIES IN ALL 50 STATES, MORE THAN 3,000 TOTAL, BY USING A STANDARD FORMULA TO MEASURE HOW HEALTHY PEOPLE ARE AND HOW LONG THEY LIVE.
MISSOURI’S 10 HEALTHIEST COUNTIES, STARTING WITH MOST HEALTHY, ARE PLATTE, ST. CHARLES, CHRISTIAN, JOHNSON, OSAGE, NODAWAY, DEKALB, CLAY, MONITEAU AND CASS.
THE 10 COUNTIES IN THE POOREST HEALTH, STARTING WITH LEAST HEALTHY, ARE PEMISCOT, DUNKLIN, RIPLEY, REYNOLDS, NEW MADRID, WASHINGTON, BUTLER, MISSISSIPPI, WAYNE AND ST. LOUIS CITY.
THE HEALTHIEST OF MISSOURI’S COUNTIES ARE CLUSTERED IN THE EASTERN, CENTRAL AND NORTHWESTERN REGIONS; THE LEAST HEALTHY COUNTIES ARE SPRINKLED PRIMARILY IN THE SOUTHEASTERN REGION OF THE STATE.
THE ONLINE REPORT, AVAILABLE AT WWW.COUNTYHEALTHRANKINGS.ORG, INCLUDES A SNAPSHOT OF EACH COUNTY IN MISSOURI WITH A COLOR-CODED MAP COMPARING EACH COUNTY’S OVERALL HEALTH RANKING.
RESEARCHERS USED FIVE MEASURES TO ASSESS THE LEVEL OF OVERALL HEALTH OR "HEALTH OUTCOMES" FOR MISSOURI BY COUNTY: 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 POOR MENTAL HEALTH, AND THE RATE OF LOW-BIRTHWEIGHT INFANTS.
THE REPORT THEN LOOKS AT FACTORS THAT AFFECT PEOPLE’S HEALTH WITHIN FOUR CATEGORIES: HEALTH BEHAVIOR, CLINICAL CARE, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS, AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT.
AMONG THE MANY HEALTH FACTORS THEY LOOKED AT: 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, RATES OF VIOLENT CRIME, ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOODS, AIR POLLUTION LEVELS, AND LIQUOR STORE DENSITY.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW.COUNTYHEALTHRANKINGS.ORG.
