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For the sixth year in a row, Hamilton County tops the list of Indiana counties when it comes to health. Neighboring Marion County, however, ranked much lower – near the bottom of the state’s 92 counties in health outcomes and overall health factors.
The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program is a national project of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Health Institute. The program aims to show counties where they fall compared to others in their state, so that communities can identify health problems and find solutions. The online report is created to help counties understand what influences the length of life and quality of life for its community members.
Marion, a county to the south of Hamilton, is ranked in the last, most unhealthy tier. The counties surrounding Marion - Hamilton, Boone, Hendricks, Morgan, Johnson, Shelby and Hancock - are all a tier or more higher.
The health outcomes ranking is based on the length of life of the people in the county and how healthy the people feel during their life. The health factors ranking is an estimate determined by “health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic, and physical environment factors.”
Health behaviors include tobacco use and sexual activity, and clinical care is based on access to and quality of care. Social and economic factors include education and community safety. Physical environment factors include air and water quality.
Scott County, the southeastern Indiana county that is currently combating an HIV outbreak linked to IV drug abuse, ranked last in the state for health outcome. Lake County ranked last for health factors for the 2015 report.
The website also provides tools to help a community move from understanding its ranking to improve the health in their county.
Check your county rankings here.
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