Health News
- Study Of Poor But Healthy Appalachian Counties Aims To Find Community-based Approaches To Improving The Region's Health
Though some people equate Appalachian areas with poverty, David Krol seeks to "shine a light" on a different picture?one that reflects "how health can flourish across Appalachia," despite data that confirms economic hardship, Krol writes for...
- County Health Rankings Look Familiar, But Show That Some Counties Overcame Bad Factors To Have Encouraging Outcomes
The 2015 County Health Rankings for Kentucky, compiled by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, have been released. For the fourth year in a row, Oldham County ranked highest...
- Owsley Men Most Likely In U.s. To Be Obese, Perry Women Most Likely To Die; Morgan Women Led Nation In Increasing Exercise
Men in Owsley County are the fattest in the United States, and women in Perry County have the lowest life expectancy, 72, according to an NBC News report based on data assembled by the Seattle-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which...
- 2012 County Health Rankings Released; Meant To Spur Local Change
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News Meant to be a conversation starter to fuel change for better health, the third-annual County Health Rankings were released today, a health-evaluation tool that assesses the country's counties on everything from...
- County Health Rankings In Kentucky Show Few Changes, But Ranks Are Less Important Than The Trove Of Data They Reflect
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News The health evaluation tool that calls itself "the annual check-up of over 3,000 counties in the nation" was released today, showing little change from last year in how Kentucky counties compare when it comes to...
Health News
Study finds only counties in Appalachia, mostly in Kentucky, had increasing rates of death among both sexes as century turned
By Molly Burchett
Kentucky Health News
More than 40 percent of counties saw increases in female death rates as the 21st Century began, while the death rate for men rose in just 3 percent of counties, a study shows. Only Appalachian counties, mostly in Kentucky, had worsening rates for both sexes. (Click on a map for a larger version.)
On the Health Affairs maps above, blue counties showed substantial improvement, while those in aqua showed minimal improvement and worsening counties are in red.
The study identifies some shared characteristics among the 1,334 counties where more women are dying prematurely, but the main factors weren't medical or behavioral, according to David Kindig and Erika Cheng, authors of the study report.
Although counties with high rates of smoking and obesity had increased mortality rates, the report found socioeconomic factors in the Appalachian states of Kentucky and West Virginia, such as the percentage of a county?s population with a college education and the rate of children living in poverty, had more to do with increased mortality rates.
In Kentucky, Owsley County has been ranked last on health-related measures by the Population Health Institute. Areas like this in Appalachia suffered rising death rates in both sexes because college education is a rarity, child poverty is normal, recreational facilities are scarce, restaurants are mostly fast-food outlets, and adults lack social support, reports Geoffrey Cowley of msnbc.
The chart below shows how Kentucky compares to the national average in premature death and that Owsley County suffers from tremendously high rates.
Kentucky Health News
More than 40 percent of counties saw increases in female death rates as the 21st Century began, while the death rate for men rose in just 3 percent of counties, a study shows. Only Appalachian counties, mostly in Kentucky, had worsening rates for both sexes. (Click on a map for a larger version.)
Change In Male Mortality Rates From 1992?96 To 2002?06
Change In Female Mortality Rates From 1992?96 To 2002?06
On the Health Affairs maps above, blue counties showed substantial improvement, while those in aqua showed minimal improvement and worsening counties are in red.
Although counties with high rates of smoking and obesity had increased mortality rates, the report found socioeconomic factors in the Appalachian states of Kentucky and West Virginia, such as the percentage of a county?s population with a college education and the rate of children living in poverty, had more to do with increased mortality rates.
In Kentucky, Owsley County has been ranked last on health-related measures by the Population Health Institute. Areas like this in Appalachia suffered rising death rates in both sexes because college education is a rarity, child poverty is normal, recreational facilities are scarce, restaurants are mostly fast-food outlets, and adults lack social support, reports Geoffrey Cowley of msnbc.
The chart below shows how Kentucky compares to the national average in premature death and that Owsley County suffers from tremendously high rates.
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| County Health Rankings by University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (countyhealthrankings.org) |
These findings provide supporting evidence for the ever-increasing need for significant health improvement efforts in Appalachia. According to the report, efforts must extend beyond a focus on health care delivery and include stronger policies affecting health behaviors and the social and environmental determinants of health,with corresponding investments in those areas. (Read more)
Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.
- Study Of Poor But Healthy Appalachian Counties Aims To Find Community-based Approaches To Improving The Region's Health
Though some people equate Appalachian areas with poverty, David Krol seeks to "shine a light" on a different picture?one that reflects "how health can flourish across Appalachia," despite data that confirms economic hardship, Krol writes for...
- County Health Rankings Look Familiar, But Show That Some Counties Overcame Bad Factors To Have Encouraging Outcomes
The 2015 County Health Rankings for Kentucky, compiled by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, have been released. For the fourth year in a row, Oldham County ranked highest...
- Owsley Men Most Likely In U.s. To Be Obese, Perry Women Most Likely To Die; Morgan Women Led Nation In Increasing Exercise
Men in Owsley County are the fattest in the United States, and women in Perry County have the lowest life expectancy, 72, according to an NBC News report based on data assembled by the Seattle-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which...
- 2012 County Health Rankings Released; Meant To Spur Local Change
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News Meant to be a conversation starter to fuel change for better health, the third-annual County Health Rankings were released today, a health-evaluation tool that assesses the country's counties on everything from...
- County Health Rankings In Kentucky Show Few Changes, But Ranks Are Less Important Than The Trove Of Data They Reflect
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News The health evaluation tool that calls itself "the annual check-up of over 3,000 counties in the nation" was released today, showing little change from last year in how Kentucky counties compare when it comes to...