WESTFIELD – A comprehensive, multi-year health survey conducted by the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin ranks Hampden County at the bottom of the 14 counties statewide.
The study, County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, used data collected from a number of sources, including the National Center for Health Statistics, the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the USDA Food Environment Atlas, the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention and dates back to as far as 2004 in some data categories.
The survey looked at health outcomes such as mortality and morbidity, as well as health risks such as tobacco use, diet and exercise, alcohol use, sexual activity, access to health care, and the quality of health care. Social and economic factors, including education, income, employment and community safety were factored into the analysis.
The highest ranking Hampden County received in the analysis report was #11 for the physical environment, where factors such as air and water quality, access to recreational facilities, access to fast food and the limited access to healthy food were evaluated as part of the study.
The state Department of Public Health (DPH) is now providing money to the Hampden County Health Coalition to examine the analysis and target specific concerns.
Westfield Health Director Mike Suckau said that “the DPH is pushing us to address” these health-related issues, but that a comprehensive solution may be difficult to attain because of the diverse populations in the county.
Westfield, Springfield, Chicopee and Holyoke are the largest Hampden County communities in terms of population and have very different problems and different needs.
Westfield is conducting its own independent health needs survey which will dovetail into the county assessment, Suckau said to the Board of Health members last night. The Health Department is requesting city residents to respond to the multi-page survey, which is broken into sections that deal with various aspects of public health, including public safety, housing, transportation, job training and other community facilities and services. The survey asks residents to provide a self assessment of their current state of health, levels of physical activity and diet, tobacco, alcohol and non-prescription drug consumption, as well as demographic information such as gender, age, and occupation.
The city’s survey will mailed to random residents and available at public buildings. It will also be available to residents through the website www.surveymonkey.com.
The University of Wisconsin study can be viewed at http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/massachusetts/2013/hampden/county/outcomes/overall/snapshot/by-rank
