Schuylkill County is among the 10 unhealthiest counties in Pennsylvania, according to an annual report released March 16.
Schuylkill ranked 61st healthiest of the state’s 67 counties in the seventh annual County Health Rankings by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute.
The county ranked 55th last year.
Neighboring counties had similar rankings this year: Northumberland, 57; Dauphin, 51; Carbon, 58; Luzerne, 64.
Meanwhile, Berks ranked 25th, Lebanon, 16th, Lehigh, 28th and Columbia, 37th.
The five healthiest counties in Pennsylvania, starting with the healthiest, are Chester, followed by Union, Montgomery, Centre and Cumberland. The five counties with the poorest health, starting with least healthiest, are Philadelphia, Fayette, Sullivan, Luzerne and Cambria.
The nationwide report looks at more than 30 factors that influence overall health, including premature death rate, access to healthy foods, income, access to doctors, use of preventative screenings, environmental factors and health behaviors such as smoking, obesity and alcohol use.
This year, the report took a closer look at the differences in health between urban, rural, suburban and smaller metro counties and found:
• Rural counties not only have higher rates of premature death, but also nearly 1 in 5 rural counties saw rises in premature death rates over the past decade, while most urban counties have experienced consistent improvement.
• Rural counties have higher rates of smoking, obesity, child poverty, teen births, and higher numbers of uninsured adults than their urban counterparts.
• Large urban counties have lower smoking and obesity rates, fewer injury deaths, and more residents who attended some college.
• Large suburban counties have the lowest rates of childhood poverty and teen births.
“As the state team lead agency analyzing the rankings for Pennsylvania, we find that the information is an important way to understand the relationship between where we live and our health,” Francine Axler, executive director of Public Health Management Corp.’s Community Health Data Base, said. “It’s helpful to see where certain counties need improvement, so public health organizations like PHMC can target and address specific health issues.”
“The County Health Rankings show how important it is to examine all the conditions that impact well-being and can help families thrive,” Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, RWJF president and CEO, said. “Communities around the nation are using the County Health Rankings to drive improvements in education, housing, job training, healthy food options and more, as they work to build a culture of health.”
“The rankings data are only as valuable as the action it inspires and the lives it improves,” Bridget Catlin, Ph.D., MHSA, co-director of the County Health Rankings, said. “Whether it’s addressing health gaps between counties or the concentration of poverty in rural or residentially segregated communities-targeting resources to the people and places in greatest need is essential to building a Culture of Health. The rankings are an important springboard for conversations on how to expand opportunity for all to be healthy.”
A look at how the county ranked
How Schuylkill County ranked among 67 counties in Pennsylvania:
· Overall health outcomes: 61st
· Length of Life: 64th
· Quality of Life: 37th
· Overall health factors: 49th
· Health behaviors: 42nd
· Clinical care: 46th
· Social and economic factors: 54th
· Physical environment: 19th
With a population of 145,797, Schuylkill County has fewer residents below the age of 18 and more residents 65 and older than the state averages. The percentage of 18 and younger in the county is 19.5 percent, while the state average was 21.1 percent. The percentage of 65 and older in the county is 19.3 percent, while the state average is 16.7 percent.
The county ranked 64th in number of premature deaths at 8,900 premature deaths. The state average is 6,900.
Regarding quality of life, the county ranked 37th as it matched most of the state averages, such as 15 percent of residents being in poor or fair health, 3.6 poor physical health days and 8 percent low birthweight. Poor mental health days (4.0) was close to the state average (3.9).
When it comes to factors influencing overall health, like behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment, Schuylkill County ranked 49th in the state.
Behavior ranked 42nd with smoking (20 percent) and excessive drinking (17 percent) falling within a percent of the state averages, 19 and 18 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, adult obesity (35 percent), physical inactivity (29 percent) and teen births (31) were higher than the state averages of 29 percent, 24 percent and 27, respectively, while access to exercise opportunities (70 percent) and alcohol-impaired driving deaths (23 percent) were lower than the state averages of 85 percent and 33 percent, respectively.
Clinical care is ranked 46th. The figure of uninsured residents matched the state average at 12 percent. Preventable hospital stays was 66 compared to the state average of 57.
The figures also reveal a need for more primary care physicians, dentists and mental health providers in the county.
In the county, there are 1,710 residents per primary care physician while the state average is 1,220. It is 2,430 residents per dentist and 1,550 per mental health provider compared to the state averages of 1,550 and 580, respectively.
Source: Countyhealthrankings.org