Health study points to rural problems

 


By Diana Zimmerman

This year, Wahkiakum finished last in a study that ranked health in the counties of Washington state.

The study used information collected from a “variety of national data sources” and was published by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Several factors are considered, including the physical environment. This includes air and water quality, housing and transit. They assess social and economic factors like access to and quality of clinical care, levels of education, employment, income, family and social support, and community safety. The study also focuses on individual choices, like tobacco use, diet and exercise, alcohol and drug use, and sexual activity.

According to a recent grant application prepared by Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services the percentage of people over 65 in Wahkiakum County is twice that of the state. It also stated that we have a higher rate of obesity, diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

“Very rural communities are always at the bottom of the list,” Sue Cameron, Director of Wahkiakum Health and Human Services said. “It’s always about demographics and that’s not something we can fix. We have a much lower household size. If our population over 65 is higher than anywhere else, we’re going to have chronic diseases. If we had a bigger population of young people, we would have a lower percentage of chronic diseases.

“No matter what we do, moving the tipping point on this isn’t something that is very easily done based on the age of our population,” she said.

According to the study, 47 percent of the population in Wahkiakum County has had some college education. It is 68 percent for the state.

The rate of child poverty in the state is 18 percent. In Wahkiakum County, it’s 27 percent.

Children in single parent households in Wahkiakum County stands at 41 percent, 12 points higher than the state at 29 percent.

The state poverty rate is 13.2 percent, while the poverty rate in Wahkiakum County is 13.9 percent.

“My view on it is that it’s not realistic to compare us to others,” Cameron said. “We’re being compared to Seattle. I would rather take specific issues and deal with them than look at it as a whole. Honestly, it’s meant to provoke activity.”

 

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