WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- There are
clear links between race, ethnicity, geography and drivers of
health outcomes in the U.S., a special report from U.S. News &
World Report finds.
In one of the largest assessments of social determinants of
health to date, U.S. News found that communities with a greater
share of white residents generally score better, differing from the
negative link between communities' scores and their share of black
residents. Larger Hispanic and Native American populations also are
linked to worse Healthiest Communities outcomes.
Released today, this report analyzed social determinants of
health across nearly 3,000 U.S. counties that were part of the
initial Healthiest Communities rankings. The report identifies
factors that influence overall well-being such as economy, housing
and access to health care, and highlights diverse areas
outperforming the norm.
Key Findings include:
- Nearly 700 communities have a black population share larger
than the national average of about 13 percent. Yet just 26 of those
communities rank among the top 500 Healthiest Communities
overall, with many of those in the Washington, D.C., and Atlanta areas.
- Some of the strongest predictors of community performance in
the U.S. News assessment are also areas in which communities with
large black populations generally struggle. These factors
include homicide rates, low birth weight and, in particular, access
to healthy and affordable food.
- Low segregation is one of the top 15 drivers of community
performance for places with larger than average Hispanic
populations. Proximity to jobs and good child care quality
reveal some of the largest gaps in social determinants of health
between communities with both a Hispanic population share above the
national average of about 17 percent and communities with smaller
Hispanic populations.
- There is a negative relationship between the size of a
community's Native American population and its Healthiest
Communities score. The strongest drivers of improved community
performance in areas with larger- than-average Native American
populations are better access to supermarkets and household
utilities for heat, as well as lower rates of cancer
prevalence.
"In-depth analysis and data-driven journalism powers the
Healthiest Communities platform, allowing us to examine the
relationship between public health initiatives and community health
as a whole," said Brian Kelly,
editor and chief content officer of U.S. News. "Our reporting
highlights communities that are making important strides to advance
health for economically and socially diverse populations, while
also empowering community leaders to seek positive change in
counties facing disparities."
"Your ZIP code can influence your health more than your genetic
code. However, even within the varying health outcomes that we see
across different geographies, we also see inequality across racial
and ethnic groups," said Dr. Garth
Graham, president of the Aetna Foundation and vice president
of Community Health for Aetna, Inc. "In order to improve health
equity in our country, we need to truly understand where these
problems exist so that we can help support local solutions that
address these unique needs. The new report from U.S. News not only
uses data and research to help identify issues in different
locations, but also features communities that are striving to
improve health for diverse populations."
These findings are accompanied by an editorial package that
examines how communities in New
Mexico, Kentucky and
Georgia are working to overcome
barriers to health:
- A Better Place to Be Black? Georgia Counties Excel in Community Health:
Defying a national trend, four Georgia counties with significant black
populations land among the nation's Healthiest Communities.
- Majority-White Kentucky County Struggles On, Decades After War
on Poverty: A spotlight on how the worst-performing majority-white
county in the Healthiest Communities analysis is trying to do
better.
- New Mexico Counties Divided by
Care: An in-depth look at why Grant
County and bordering Luna County– two heavily Hispanic
counties in New Mexico – fare
differently in terms of health outcomes and community
prosperity.
The Race and Community Health in America package is part of the
growing Healthiest Communities platform, featuring in-depth
reporting and analysis on public health issues in nearly 3,000
communities. Developed in collaboration with the Aetna Foundation,
the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna,
Healthiest Communities includes comprehensive data covering the
full spectrum of factors that influence population health. The
project is part of U.S. News' expanding civic journalism
initiative, which measures government progress locally and
globally. Civic includes the Best States and Best
Countries portals.
The analysis relies on U.S. Census five-year population
estimates of race and ethnicity paired with the U.S. News
Healthiest Communities dataset. The rankings encompass 80
metrics drawn from sources such as the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation,
the U.S. Census Bureau, the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care and the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information on Healthiest
Communities, explore Facebook and Twitter using
#HealthiestCommunities.
About U.S. News & World Report
Celebrating its
85th year, U.S. News & World Report is a
digital news and information company that empowers people to make
better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting
their lives. Focusing on Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars and
Civic, USNews.com provides consumer advice, rankings and
analysis to serve people making complex decisions throughout all
stages of life. More than 40 million people
visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance.
Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
About The Aetna Foundation
The Aetna
Foundation is the independent charitable and
philanthropic arm of Aetna (NYSE:AET). As a national health
foundation, we promote wellness, health, and access to
high-quality health care for everyone. This work
is enhanced by the time and commitment of Aetna
employees, who volunteered 520,000 hours in 2017 alone. For more
information, visit www.aetnafoundation.org.
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SOURCE U.S. News & World Report