A while ago, we wrote an article featuring the 10 Healthiest Counties in Florida. Some readers were proud of their counties, and some were surprised by the results. So we decided to use the same data to find out which counties were rated Florida’s unhealthiest. We determined this using research from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps for 2015, which takes into account things like length of life, quality of life, and quality of environment, as well as social and behavioral factors such as smoking and excessive drinking.
While Madison County scored fairly well for its physical environment, poor health behaviors, social and economic factors such as poverty and violent crime were higher than average.
Although clinical care factors seemed to be decent here, 20% of the population surveyed described themselves as being in fair or poor health. This percentage is age-adjusted in the research, so this isn't due to any county having an older population. Some risky health behaviors were also higher than average here.
Taylor County scored well in physical environment and clinical care factors, but negative health behaviors were high, and 24% of those surveyed reported being in fair or poor health.
Dixie County has high risk factors in many areas, but health behaviors such as smoking and alcohol-impaired driving deaths are exceedingly high. A shocking 69% of the population was potentially exposed to drinking water violations, whereas the average for Florida is 6%. Those surveyed reported nearly twice as many physically unhealthy days in the past month as compared to Florida's average. 31% reported being in fair or poor health.
Physical environment was rated as decent in Hamilton County, but social and economic factors, as well as health behaviors such as obesity and alcohol-impaired driving deaths, were high.
Though physical environment was rated fairly well, social and economic factors like poverty and violent crime, as well as risky health behaviors like smoking and obesity, were quite high.
Higher than average levels of air and water pollution, as well as some high-risk health behaviors, were reported in Washington County. Of those surveyed, a staggering 35% reported being in fair or poor health.
Physical environment and social and economic factors rated relatively well for Union County, but risky health behaviors were high, and premature death rates were the highest in the state. 22% of those surveyed reported being in fair or poor health, but clinical care factors such as preventable hospital stays were high.
What factors do you think put counties at risk for health problems like these? Did any of these surprise you? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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