County Health Rankings show Black Hawk slipping - Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
WATERLOO — Black Hawk County has fallen in the latest health rankings.
The report released today shows Black Hawk County ranking 85th of Iowa’s 99 counties in health outcomes. The rankings measure lifespan and quality of life in nearly every county in the nation.
It’s the lowest rating for Black Hawk since the County Health Rankings, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, were first released in 2010.
“When I look at the snapshot for Black Hawk, I think the obesity rate is something that is well worth addressing,” said Mary Bennett, a community coach with County Health Rankings and Roadmaps.
Bennett said a high obesity rate can have a “tremendous” impact because ailments like heart disease and diabetes are connected to obesity.
Other risk factors for the county include a lack of physical activity, a rise in violent crime and a high rate of sexually transmitted infections — Black Hawk is the second-worst county in the state in newly diagnosed chlamydia cases per 100,000 people.
“You’re ranked 85, but the social and economic factors are really, it looks like, the ones to pay the most attention to, besides the adult obesity, which is also connected to social and economic factors,” Bennett said.
Black Hawk ranked 90th in social and economic factors like high school graduation rates, percent of children living in poverty and violent crime.
The rankings are meant to show where a community can make improvements or build on strengths. Examples of community success stories, as well as additional data, are available at www.countyhealthrankings.org/.
Statewide
While Black Hawk slipped — it ranked 73rd in 2016 and has ranked between 68th and 82nd in eight years of the rankings — the picture is not all bleak throughout Northeast Iowa.
Two counties are in the top five in terms of health outcomes, and Bremer County was sixth.
Sioux County remains the healthiest in Iowa, followed by Winneshiek, Lyon, Chickasaw and Cedar counties. The least healthiest are Lee County at 95th, followed by Pocahontas, Wapello, Decatur and Monona counties.
Bennett noted clinical care as a strength in Black Hawk County and across the state. Iowa ranks well in access to primary care physicians and dentists and has a relatively low uninsured rate.
New data
The County Health Ranking began measuring two new factors this year: deaths due to drug overdoses and youth disconnectedness. Though neither were included in the rankings, both can help a community understand underlying issues.
Black Hawk County’s youth disconnectedness rate is 7 percent, compared with 9 percent statewide. It’s drug overdose death rate is six per 100,000 people; the highest rate in the state is 18 per 100,000 in Scott County.
Many counties, however, were not included in the latter measure, Bennett said, because there is a lack of data.
Drug overdoses are one reason premature deaths are on the rise across the nation after dropping for years.
Bennett said the new figures can help communities address risk factors for health.
“What’s really working is when people look at the issue, get a clear understanding of what’s happening and come up with solutions that really address the cause and not just a Band-Aid, and that’s going to be the return on investment,” Bennett said.
No comments :