Media availability to discuss the 2010 County Health Rankings
NASHVILLE -- On February 17, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will release the 2010 County Health Rankings. It is the first report to rank the overall health of the counties in all 50 states – more than 3,000 total – by using a standard formula to measure how healthy people are and how long they live.
Veronica Gunn, MD, MPH, FAAP, chief medical officer for the Tennessee Department of Health, will participate in a brief conference call with the media to discuss the rankings and respond to questions.
The online report, available at www.countyhealthrankings.org, includes a snapshot of each county in Tennessee with a color-coded map comparing each county’s overall health ranking. Researchers used five measures to assess the level of overall health or “health outcomes” for the state by county: the rate of people dying before age 75, the percentage of people who report being in fair or poor health, the numbers of days people report being in poor physical and poor mental health, and the rate of low-birthweight infants.
The report then looks at factors that affect people’s health within four categories: health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. Among the many health factors included are: rates of adult smoking, adult obesity, binge drinking and teenage pregnancy; the number of uninsured adults, availability of primary care providers and preventable hospital stays; rates of high school graduation, number of children in poverty, rates of violent crime, access to healthy foods, air pollution levels and liquor store density.
Who: Veronica Gunn, MD, MPH, FAAP, chief medical officer for the Tennessee Department of Health
What: Media availability to discuss the 2010 County Health Rankings
When: Wednesday, February 17, 2 - 2:30 p.m. CT
To register for participation, contact Amanda Morris by noon CT on February 17 at 615.253.8300 or Amanda.Morris@tn.gov via e-mail.