By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Many Wood County residents need to exercise more and eat fewer unhealthy foods. On the bright side, more of them have health insurance now to cover their medical needs.
Every three years, Wood County has its overall health tested by the health district. Data was collected last year from health surveys mailed to a random sample of Wood County adults and students. A total of 513 adults and 489 adolescents responded to the surveys.
The surveys showed some good and bad trends.
“We did get a little better among adults,” but a little worse for adolescents with obesity and weight issues, according to Connor Rittwage, epidemiologist with the Wood County Health District.
So reducing obesity is one of the priorities set in the new Community Health Improvement Plan.
“It’s not going to be solved overnight,” Rittwage said. “It’s going to take decades.”
Last year’s assessment also showed that more local adults have never smoked, and fewer youth are smoking.
Some “major spikes” were seen in mental health issues among youth, with larger numbers purposefully hurting themselves and contemplating suicide.
“Those are areas definitely to pay attention to,” Rittwage said.
But a good trend was seen with health insurance.
“A lot of people ended up having health care coverage,” compared to previous surveys, Rittwage said.
Based on the survey results, Wood County agency partners set priorities as:
- Decreasing obesity.
- Increasing mental health services.
- Decreasing violence and bullying among youth.
- Increasing health care access and utilization.
“Those are areas where we as partners can work together to make an impact on,” Rittwage said.
Some interesting data found in Wood County 2015 Community Health Assessment for adults:
Health care coverage
- 94 percent of adults have health insurance coverage. Since 2012, the number of uninsured adults in the county has decreased from 15 percent to 6 percent.
- Specifically, of Wood County adults, 95 percent have medical coverage, 90 percent have prescription coverage, 74 percent have dental, and 65 percent have vision coverage.
- Half of adults visit a health care provider for routine checkups.
- 68 percent travel outside Wood County for health care services.
Heart health
- One in four have high blood pressure.
- One in four will die from heart disease or stroke.
Obesity
- 58 percent engage in some type of physical activity or exercise for at least 30 minutes on three or more days per week.
- 64 percent are obese or overweight.
- 93 percent of adults do not eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.
Cancer
- 12 percent have been diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.
- Leading cancers are skin (35 percent), prostate (19 percent), breast (14 percent) and cervical (14 percent).
The assessment collected the following data on youth in grades 6 through 12:
Mental health of youth
- 16 percent have seriously considered attempting suicide.
- 23 percent have purposefully hurt themselves.
- 9 percent of females and 6 percent of males have attempted suicide.
- One in four feel sad or hopeless almost every day.
Obesity in youth
- One in three are obese or overweight.
- 13 percent eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
Sexual behavior of youth
- 27 percent have had sexual intercourse.
- 6 percent had four or more sexual partners.
- 7 percent engaged in intercourse without a reliable method of protection.
- One in four have sexted.
Violence and unintentional injury among youth
- 38 percent are bullied.
- 22 percent are bullied on school property.
- Of those bullied, 31 percent are verbally bullied, 20 percent indirectly, 9 percent cyber bullied, 7 percent physically bullied, and 2 percent sexually bullied.
- 16 percent have been in a physical fight.
- 10 percent have carried a weapon.
“The assessment gave us an excellent opportunity to partner with Wood County government leaders, agencies, organizations, businesses, schools and local residents to develop the final document,” Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Batey wrote in a recent annual report.
The priorities set in the new Community Health Improvement Plan suggest the following actions:
Decreasing adult, youth, and child obesity:
– Promote breastfeeding in new mothers
– Implement OHA Healthy Hospitals Initiative
– Expand wellness programming such as the “Walk With A Doc” program
– Expand efforts of the Wood County Obesity Task Force
– Increase nutrition/physical education materials being offered to patients by primary care providers
– Create a wellness outreach campaign
Increasing mental health services among adults and youth:
– Increase the number of primary care offices who screen for depression during office visits
– Provide Mental Health First Aid Training for adults and youth
– Expand evidence-based programs targeting youth and families
– Increase social support systems for adults and youth
– Increase awareness of trauma informed care
Decreasing bullying and violence among youth and children:
– Support Wood County school districts implementing the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
– Increase the number of Wood County teachers trained and implementing the Pax Good Behavior Game Program
– Increase LifeSkills Programming for youth in grades 3-12
– Increase the number of Wood County schools participating in Expect Respect
Increasing healthcare access and utilization:
– Improve access to primary and preventive health care
– Increase awareness of healthcare services
– Increase community education on health insurance opportunities and enrollment
– Increase access to dental services
The complete health assessment results can be seen at www.woodcountyhealth.org.
