Georgia Statewide County Health Rankings

(1)

Georgia Statewide

County Health Rankings

Atlanta Regional Commission Regional Snapshot: June 2013 For more information contact:

mcarnathan@atlantaregional.com

(2)

Health Factors & Outcomes Z-Scores

Factors Z-Score Outcomes Z-Score

Health Factors are what influence the health of a county. Such measures include tobacco use, diet and exercise, education, employment, community safety or physical environment quality.

Health Outcomes represent how healthy a county is. The two components of health outcomes are how long people live (mortality) and how healthy people feel while alive (morbidity).

Source: HRSA Area Resource File, 2011-2012, U.S. Census Bureau

* Negative Z-scores indicate relatively healthier counties

(3)

Statewide County Rankings: Health Factors

Top 10 Rankings

1. Fayette 6. Harris 2. Oconee 7. Cobb 3. Forsyth 8. Gwinnett 4. Columbia 9. Union 5. Cherokee 10. Bryan These are the 10 healthiest counties based on health factors.

(4)

Statewide County Rankings: Health Outcomes

Top 10 Rankings

1. Forsyth 6. Cobb 2. Fayette 7. Columbia 3. Oconee 8. Morgan 4. Gwinnett 9. Coweta 5. Cherokee 10. Rockdale These are the 10 healthiest counties based on health outcomes.

(5)

Health Factors Z-Scores: Variables

Income

Z-Scores

Z-Scores measure how far a

particular county deviates from the state average on a selected

measure. Here we are looking at overall health factor z-scores.

Negative z-scores mean that counties are relatively healthier than the state average.

• This scatter plot shows that income and the overall ranking on health factors are related – i.e. the higher the income, the lower the z-scores, thus the healthier the counties.

• Subsequent slides shows several of these scatterplots that tracks the relationships between socioeconomics and demographics to overall health.

(6)

Health Factors Z-Scores: Variables

Income

Population Age 65 and over

Non-White Population

Education

(7)

Health Outcomes Z-Scores: Variables

Income

Population Age 65 and over

Non-White Population

Education

(8)

Counties with Highest Access to Primary Care Physicians (per 100,000)

• Floyd County, with Rome as the county seat, has the highest number of primary care physicians per 100,000 at 117.

• Fulton County has the highest population in the state, and ranks No.

5 in Primary Physician rate.

• Of the top 20 counties listed, only four are

located in the 20-County Metro area.

• Seminole County ranks No. 3 in primary

physician rate, but has 170 preventable

hospital stays per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.

Primary Physician Rate

Preventable Hospital Stays 2012 County Population Estimates

(9)

Counties with Lowest Access to Primary Care Physicians (per 100,000)

• Macon County has the lowest rate of primary care physicians in the state.

• Paulding County, one of the 20-County Metro area counties, ranks 148 on primary care

physician rate with a relatively high

population at 144,800.

• Rural counties have a significantly lower rate of primary care

physicians . However, this does not necessarily translate into higher numbers of preventable hospital stays.

2012 County Population Estimates Primary Physician Rate

Preventable Hospital Stays

(10)

Preventable Hospital Stays and People Without Health Insurance

Source: Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, 2010, U.S. Census Bureau

• Dark purple

indicates counties with high

numbers of preventable hospital stays.

• There is a strong correlation

between uninsured children and adults.

• Counties with the highest numbers of preventable hospital stays also have the highest rates of uninsured people.

(11)

Healthcare Costs Per Person and Household Income

• Dark red indicates counties with higher cost of health care per person.

• Southeastern counties have a dense concentration of high health care costs in the state.

• Of these counties, the percentage of households with income less than

$35,000 is 30% or greater.

• There is little

connection between people who cannot access a doctor due to cost, household income, or average health care cost per person.

(12)

Obesity Rates and Educational Attainment

Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion 2009, U.S. Census Bureau

• Dark brown

counties have the highest obesity rates.

• There exists a strong

correlation

between obesity rate and income.

• The lowest

statewide obesity rates are found in the Northeastern and Metro-

Atlanta counties.

(13)

Smoking in Relation to Cancer and Respiratory Deaths

• Counties with no records have populations of 30,000 or less.

• Counties with the highest rate of smokers tend to be rural and less

populated.

• Counties with high rates of respiratory deaths (over 150, per 100,000

population) tend to have high rates of cancer as well (200 or more, per

100,000 population).

(14)

STD Rate, Income and Non-White Population

Source: Georgia Department of Public Health, STD Program, 2009-2011, U.S. Census Bureau

• Dark purple

indicates counties with higher STD rates.

• Counties with a non-white

population of 50%

or greater tend to have the highest rates of STDs in Georgia.

• Low-income counties do not show a significant correlation

between STDs or non-white

population.

(15)

YPLL 75 Rate, Education and Income

• Dark brown indicates areas with high Years of Potential Life Lost before Age 75 (YPLL 75), which is a measure of

premature death.

• Rural counties experience high rates (per

100,000)

population) of YPLL 75.

• Higher YPLL 75 rates can be found in counties with lower educational attainment and lower income.

(16)

20-County Metro Atlanta: Income, Death Rate and Primary Care Access

• Dark green represents the wealthiest

counties in terms of median

household income.

• The graph shows that there is little correlation

between death rate and primary care physician rates.

• County death rates are more closely correlated with levels of income and education.

(17)

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

350 Cancer

External Causes Repiratory Cardiovascular

20-County Metro Atlanta Death Rates

Rate of Death (per 100,000)

(18)

20-County Metro Atlanta: Teen Birth Rates

• Dark red

represents the percent of births that are to

women ages 10-

• Counties with high 19.

percentages of people 25 and older with no high school diploma and mothers who did not complete high school also have the highest rates of teen pregnancy.

• Poorer counties have higher rates of teen pregnancy.

Source: Georgia Department of Public Health, Maternal Child Health (MCH) Statistics, 2009-2011, U.S. Census Bureau

(19)

• Dark blue represents higher median

household income.

• Single fathers bring home a bigger

paycheck than single mothers in every county except for Rockdale: here, single mothers earn

$4,459 more

annually than single fathers.

• Both single mothers and fathers are below the median household income, highlighting a

significant economic disadvantage.

20-County Metro Atlanta: Income for

Single Mothers and Fathers

(20)

10-County Atlanta Area: Health Behaviors

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

40 Smoking

Physical Inactivity Obesity

Excessive Drinking

Percentage of Population