Maintained/created by: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Website: http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/
Geographic unit of data: U.S. State, U.S. County
Keywords: adolescent births, adolescents, AIDS, air pollution, alcohol, birth weight, car accidents, car crash, county, county rankings, demographics, determinants of health, diabetes, diabetes screening, drinking, education, english as a second language, fast food, fast food restaurants, food deserts, health foods, health rankings, health score, high school graduation, HIV, HIV/AIDS, homicide, housing costs, illiteracy, illiterate, immigrants, inactivity, insurance, insurance coverage, low birth weight, mammography screenings, median household income, mental health, mental health days, morbidity, mortality, obesity, particulate matter, physical health, poor mental health, poor physical health days, poverty, premature death, primary care doctors, primary care physcicians, rural, sexually transmitted diseases, sexually transmitted infection, single parent homes, smoking, STIs, teen brith, teens, unemployment, uninsured, urban, violent crime
Abstract:
Background
Users are able to access data on the county level to asses a variety of health outcomes and determine how critical factors such as education, jobs, income, and the environment influence health. The County Health Rankings rank the health of nearly every county in the nation and show that much of what affects health occurs outside of the doctor’s office.
The County Health Rankings confirm the critical role that factors such as education, jobs, income, and environment play in how healthy people are and how long they live. Published by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Rankings help counties understand what influences how healthy residents are and how long they will live. The Rankings look at a variety of measures that affect health such as the rate of people dying before age 75, high school graduation rates, access to healthier foods, air pollution levels, income, rates of smoking, obesity and teen births. The rankings are based on the latest data publicly available for each county, are unique in their ability to measure the overall health of each county in all 50 states on the multiple factors that influence health.
The County Health Roadmaps project includes several efforts to build connections with local communities, national partners, and leaders across all sectors to improve health. The project showcases grants to coalitions across the U.S. that are working to improve the health of people in their communities; grants to national organizations to mobilize local leaders and affiliates to improve health; a prize program to recognize communities taking action and whose promising efforts will likely lead to better health; and tools and resources to help groups working to improve the health of people in their communities.
Data Notes
Users are able to search by typing in a state or specific county. The County Health Rankings also has an integrative map feature which allows users to click on the county or state they are interested in. Using the map, users can see the rankings displayed in a color coded format. Users can also see ranking patterns on a geographic level. Users are able to asses both morbidity and mortality outcome measurements. Users are also able to asses health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment within each county. Users are also able to use the Road Map feature to see successful work, understand each community’s ranking, and get involved in future projects. The road map feature’s goal is to build a personalized plan to educate the user and inspire the user to make change happen in their community. Users can access data from 2010-2012. Users are able to download the data in the form of a summary report, map, and excel spread sheet. New data is collected regularly. There is no indication of when the new data is added.