Today, the UW Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released this year’s County Health Rankings, highlighting the importance of where we live, and how that contributes to our overall health and well-being. The healthiest Wisconsin counties are St. Croix, Ozaukee, Taylor, Iowa, and Vernon; and the least healthy are Jackson, Adams, Milwaukee, Marquette, and Menominee – based on length of life and quality of life.In addition to the general health outcome rankings based on mortality and morbidity, the data ranks counties based on health factors. A few factors are particularly interesting when considering the health of children in our communities. The health factor rankings include important social and economic indicators, including children in poverty, which is concentrated in northern and central/west Wisconsin; health behaviors including teen birthrate (highest in southeastern Wisconsin, central Wisconsin counties around and including Juno County, and various northern counties); and physical environment factors, which include limited access to healthy foods throughout Wisconsin – particularly upstate.
Though the overall rankings are telling, it’s worth diving into the specific variables for each county. For example, even in a county like Dane that seems to be doing well in the composite scorecard (ranked 11th overall), there are areas where it is ranked one of the worst counties – including violent crime rate, high school graduation rate, sexually transmitted infection rate, and number of fast food restaurants.
The New York Times wrote an interesting piece on the data – showcasing the correlation between length of life and college education. Increasing post-secondary education by one year led to a 16% decline in years of life lost before age 75, according to study director Bridget Booske Catlin.
There’s work for everyone in order to improve the health of our community, and that’s the goal of County Health Rankings. This year, they include a Roadmap to Health section to help communities move towards better health outcomes, as well as funding opportunities to support progress. I would strongly encourage you to play around on the site – get inspired, and get to work in your county!
Sara Eskrich
