Contra Costa County is ranked as being a little bit healthier this year than last, according to the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, which released its 2012 report on the state of health nationwide on Tuesday.
According to the report, Contra Costa County is the 17th healthiest county of the 56 ranked in California. This is up from 19th in 2011, which was also the ranking in 2010.
The report is broken down into two main categories, "Health Outcomes" and "Health Factors." Both of those categories are further divided into subcategories. Health Outcomes speak to how healthy each of the counties are by looking at how long people live and how healthy people feel.
Health Factors look at categories such as healthy behavior, the physical environment, and the socioeconomics of the area.
In terms of Health Factors, Contra Costa County ranked 13th among the 56 counties.
Contra Costa County was ranked particularly high in the socio and economic subcategory, coming in eighth in the state. Included in this subcategory is high school graduation rate, unemployment, children in poverty and violent crime rate, among others.
The county's lowest-ranked category is "Morbidity," coming in at 30th. This category has to do with how healthy people feel. This category includes poor physical and mental health days, as well as the percentage of adults who reported feeling in fair or poor health.
The biggest gains in Contra Costa County from 2011 to 2012 were:
- 279 fewer premature deaths reported from 2011 to 2012;
- Sexually transmitted infections dropped from 356 to 329 per 100,000 population;
- The number of uninsured people dropped from 18 percent to 14 percent;
- High school graduation rate went up from 75 percent to 88 percent; and
- The violent crime rate dropped from 470 to 448 per 100,000 population.
The complete breakdown of the health of Contra Costa County compared to the state average and national benchmark is below. The national benchmark is the desired national rate for each category. Less than 10 percent of counties nationwide meet the national benchmark.
Explanations for categories are found below the charts. Under the Contra Costa County column, 2011 statistics are in parenthesis. No parenthesis mean the number was unchanged from last year.
Category
Contra Costa County
National Benchmark
California Average
Rank (of 56)
MORTALITY
12
Premature Death
5,265 (5,544)
5,466
5,922
MORBIDITY
30
Poor or Fair Health
15%
10%
19%
Poor Physical Health Days
3.4 (3.6)
2.6
3.7
Poor Mental Health Days
3.6 (3.9)
2.3
3.6
Low Birth weight
6.6%
6%
6.7%
HEALTH BEHAVIORS
18
Adult Smoking
13%
14%
14%
Adult Obesity
24% (25%)
25%
24%
Physical Inactivity
18% (NA)
21%
18%
Excessive Drinking
19%
8%
17%
Motor Vehicle Crash Death Rate
9 (10)
12
12
Sexually Transmitted Infections
329 (365)
84
399
Teen Birth Rate
25 (25)
22
40
CLINICAL CARE
15
Uninsured
14% (18%)
11%
20%
Primary Care Physicians
775:1
631:1
847:1
Preventable Hospital Stays
51 (52)
49
52
Diabetic Screening
79%
89%
79%
Mammography Screening
68% (63 %)
74%
63%
SOCIAL & ECONOMIC FACTORS
8
High School Graduation
88% (75%)
N/A
74%
Some College
67% (66%)
68%
60%
Unemployment
11.2% (10.3%)
5.4%
12.4%
Children in Poverty
13% (12%)
13%
22%
Inadequate Social Support
21% (22%)
14%
25%
Children in Single-Parent Households
26%
20%
30%
Violent Crime Rate
448 (470)
73
500
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
24
Air Pollution-Particulate Matter Days
6
0
16
Air Pollution-Ozone Days
14
0
51
Access to Recreational Facilities
12 (13)
16
9
Limited Access to Healthy Foods
4%
0%
5%
Fast Food Restaurants
48% (NA)
25%
49%
Contra Costa County also stacks up pretty nicely with its immediate neighbors:
County
Heath Outcomes Rank
Health Factors Rank
Contra Costa
17
8
Alameda
21
13
Sacramento
31
31
Solano
33
30
San Joaquin
37
50
Finally, the top 10 healthiest counties in California are below:
- Marin
- Santa Clara
- San Benito
- Placer
- San Mateo
- Orange
- Yolo
- Nevada
- El Dorado
- Santa Cruz
Category Explanations:
- Premature Death: Years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population.
- Poor Physical/Mental Health Days: Average per 30 days.
- Physical Inactivity: Percent of adults reporting no physical activity.
- Motor Vehicle Crash Death Rate: Deaths per 100,000 population.
- Sexually Transmitted Infections: Chlamydia rate per 100,000 population.
- Teen Birth Rate: Per 1,000 teen girls.
- Violent Crime Rate: Per 100,000 population.
- Air Pollution Days: Annual number of unhealthy air days.
- Access to Recreational Facilities: Facilities per 100,000 people.
- Limited Access to Healthy Foods: Population percent who are low income and do not live near a grocery store.
