Paulding Among State’s Healthiest Counties
The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released its third-annual health study Tuesday.
Residents of Paulding County are seemingly healthier than many of their neighbors in nearby counties, a study released Tuesday reports.
The rankings, published by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, allow more than 3,000 counties and the District of Columbia to compare how healthy their residents are and how long they live.
In the "Health Factors" ranking, which includes smoking, drinking and other behaviors, social and economic factors, and the physical environment, Paulding placed 21st of the 156 Georgia counties graded—Echols, Taliaferro and Webster counties were not ranked. Among nearby counties, Paulding’s ranking placed it behind 7th-ranked Cobb but ahead of 42nd-ranked Douglas, 51st-ranked Bartow, 58th-ranked Carroll and 88th-ranked Polk.
In “Health Outcomes,” which took into account premature deaths, the percentage of adults reporting fair or poor health, percentage of live births with low birthweight and other factors, Paulding was 32nd in the state, with Carroll and Douglas counties close behind in the 33 and 36 spots, respectively. Nearby Bartow County was 51st while Polk was 124th. Cobb County had the sixth-best ranking in the state.
The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2012 report for Georgia is attached to this article.
| Georgia | Paulding | Bartow | Cobb | Douglas | Carroll | Polk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Outcomes (ranking) |
32 | 51 | 6 | 36 | 33 | 124 | |
| Mortality (ranking) |
21 | 63 | 5 | 36 | 44 | 122 | |
| Premature death | 7,965 | 7,465 | 9,287 | 5,432 | 8,219 | 8,538 | 11,152 |
| Morbidity (ranking) |
55 | 52 | 11 | 42 | 27 | 121 | |
| Poor or fair health | 16% | 18% | 21% | 11% | 16% | 15% | 24% |
| Poor physical health days | 3.6 | 5.1 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 5.0 |
| Poor mental health days | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.6 |
| Low birthweight | 9.4% | 7.4% | 7.7% | 8.1% | 9.0% | 7.5% | 9.3% |
| Health Factors (ranking) |
21 | 51 | 7 | 42 | 58 | 88 | |
| Health Behaviors (ranking) |
16 | 67 | 4 | 26 | 54 | 98 | |
| Adult smoking | 19% | 21% | 26% | 15% | 15% | 19% | 25% |
| Adult obesity | 28% | 26% | 26% | 24% | 31% | 31% | 29% |
| Physical inactivity | 24% | 25% | 25% | 21% | 25% | 25% | 27% |
| Excessive drinking | 14% | 11% | 17% | 17% | 11% | 12% | 7% |
| Motor vehicle crash death rate | 17 | 17 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 23 | 28 |
| Sexually transmitted infections | 411 | 143 | 187 | 288 | 392 | 399 | 264 |
| Teen birth rate | 54 | 35 | 76 | 36 | 45 | 54 | 95 |
| Clinical Care (ranking) |
72 | 68 | 26 | 52 | 46 | 112 | |
| Uninsured | 21% | 16% | 21% | 20% | 20% | 21% | 24% |
| Primary care physicians | 1,024:1 | 5,554:1 | 1,532:1 | 1,148:1 | 1,664:1 | 1,210:1 | 2,805:1 |
| Preventable hospital stays | 68 | 94 | 87 | 63 | 84 | 63 | 82 |
| Diabetic screening | 83% | 83% | 86% | 84% | 84% | 84% | 83% |
| Mammography screening | 66% | 62% | 64% | 68% | 66% | 59% | 65% |
| Social & Economic Factors (ranking) |
18 | 48 | 10 | 27 | 62 | 75 | |
| High school graduation | 81% | 82% | 82% | 87% | 81% | 80% | 77% |
| Some college | 58% | 57% | 43% | 72% | 60% | 48% | 39% |
| Unemployment | 10.2% | 10.6% | 11.7% | 9.7% | 11.1% | 11.1% | 10.6% |
| Children in poverty | 25% | 12% | 22% | 20% | 19% | 24% | 31% |
| Inadequate social support | 21% | 23% | 19% | 17% | 18% | 18% | |
| Children in single-parent households | 36% | 26% | 29% | 28% | 35% | 30% | 36% |
| Violent crime rate | 470 | 284 | 391 | 322 | 280 | 764 | 352 |
| Physical Environment (ranking) |
107 | 114 | 144 | 154 | 152 | 95 | |
| Air pollution-particulate matter days | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 3 |
| Air pollution-ozone days | 12 | 11 | 2 | 26 | 25 | 5 | 12 |
| Access to recreational facilities | 8 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 7 |
| Limited access to healthy foods | 10% | 14% | 21% | 7% | 14% | 23% | 0% |
| Fast food restaurants | 50% | 54% | 47% | 49% | 50% | 55% | 52% |
