Texas Health Atlas

Chapter 8: County Health Factors and Outcomes

8 County Health Factors and Outcomes FIVE HEALTH FACTORS MAPS AND THREE Health Outcomes maps summarize the health data profile for Texas. In 2010, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute published County Health Rankings, an online report for the entire United States based on county-level data. Two of the major research findings resulted in sets of maps by state for health factors and health outcomes. Four types of weighted health factors influence the health of a county, and each of the four types has its own measurable weighted variables: • Health Behaviors (30%): Tobacco Use (33.3%), Diet and Exercise (33.3%), Unsafe Sex (16.6%), and Alcohol Use (16.6%) • Clinical Care (20%): Access to Care (50%), Quality of Care (50%) • Social and Economic (40%): Education (25%), Employment (25%), Income (25%), Family and Social Support (12.5%), Community Safety (12.5%) • Physical Environment (10%): Environmental Quality (50%), Built Environment (50%) The health factors listed in the County Health Rankings do not include data analysis about genetics and biology. Health outcomes indicate how healthy the people in a county are. The study measured two types of health outcomes : morbidity (how healthy people feel while alive) and mortality (how long people live). Each indicator, in turn, includes a particular measurable variable or variables: • Morbidity: Health-Related Quality of Life (overall health, 20%; physical health, 20%; mental health, 20%); Birth Outcomes (babies born with a low birth weight, 40%) • Mortality: Premature Death (deaths before age 75) In Texas, the geographic trends for the summary of poor health factors were once again found in East and South Texas. Several counties in the Hill Country anchored to Austin, as well as suburbs of Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston , and San Antonio, exhibited trends of good health factors in these summary data. When the data are disaggregated , poor health behaviors and socioeconomic factors were most acute in East Texas; poor clinical care was widespread across the state with the highest clustering in South Texas; and poor physical environments were mainly associated with large urban areas, especially Houston and surrounding counties. The County Health Rankings study identified East Texas as having the poorest health outcomes in Texas. Morbidity was highest in East Texas and clustered in South Texas and the Panhandle. Mortality (younger than age 75) was concentrated in East Texas. 193 Summary of Health Factors Ranking Note: The weighted scores of four factors contribute to the summary of health factors ranking: socioeconomic factors (40%), health behaviors (30%), clinical care (20%), and the physical environment (10%). Each of these factors in turn is based upon several weighted variables. The socioeconomic factor is based on education, employment, income, family and social support, and community safety variables. The health behaviors factor is based upon tobacco use, diet and exercise, unsafe sex, and alcohol use variables. The clinical care factor is based upon access to care and quality of care variables. The physical environment factor is based upon environmental quality and built environment variables. Sources: Claritas, 2008; University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, 2010. 194 Health Factors Health Behaviors Ranking Note: The health behaviors factor is based upon weighted tobacco use (33.3%), diet and exercise (33.3%), unsafe sex (16.7%), and alcohol use (16.7%) variables. Sources: Claritas, 2008; University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, 2010. 195 Health Factors Clinical Care Ranking Note: The clinical care factor is based upon weighted access to care (50%, uninsured adults and primary care providers) and quality of care (50%, preventable hospital stays, diabetic screening, and hospice use) variables. Sources: Claritas, 2008; University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, 2010. 196 Health Factors Socioeconomic Ranking Note: The socioeconomic factor is based on weighted education (25%, high school graduation and college degrees); employment (25%, unemployment); income (25%, children in poverty and income inequality); family and social support (12.5%, inadequate social support and single-parent households); and community safety (12.5%, violent crime rate) variables. Sources: Claritas, 2008; University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, 2010. 197 Health Factors Physical Environment Ranking Note: The physical environment factor is based upon environmental quality (50%, air pollution particulate matter days and air pollution ozone days) and built environment (50%, access to healthy foods and liquor store density) variables. Sources: Claritas, 2008; University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, 2010. [18.216.233.58] Project MUSE (2024-04-26 11:33...