Provided By Planet Rockwall
As if there weren't enough reasons to love living in Rockwall, a new study just released ranks Rockwall County as one of the top ten healthiest counties in the state. Not a trivial accomplishment given that there are over 250 counties in Texas.
In a study which considered statistics gathered over a ten year period, researchers from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute ranked Texas counties on health outcomes, which represent how healthy a county is, and health factors, which influence the health of the county. In each category Rockwall County came in 6th and 4th respectively among the 221 counties ranked in the study.
The health outcomes rankings look at mortality rates, percentage of low birthweight births, and self-reported fair or poor health. Rockwall's ranking of 6th overall indicates that we enjoy a far higher than average life span along with a greater percentage of those years spent in good, rather than poor, health.
Health factors ranking looks at the items that contribute to the good or poor health rankings of a particular population segment. These include health behaviors, availability of clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. Health behaviors include measures of smoking, diet and exercise, alcohol use, etc. Social and economic factors consider education, employment, income and community safety. Physical environment looks at environmental quality and infrastructure. Rockwall's ranking in these factors was 4th overall.
Studies like this one can be used in any number of ways. A county ranked near the bottom could use the factors listed to develop programs to improve health in the community. A county such as Rockwall, which is rated highly, can use the information to see what they are doing right, and to encourage programs to keep our health consciousness at a high level.
No comments:
Post a Comment