Avoyelles may be happy, but not very healthy

The Joie de Vivre lifestyle comes with a price. Avoyelles residents are happy but not healthy, according to an annual report ranking the nation’s counties/parishes on several health-related factors.
Compared to the rest of the state, Avoyelles Parish fares poorly in most factors used to rank the overall health of the community. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) annual parish-by-parish report for Louisiana places Avoyelles 45th in “health outcomes” and 52nd in “health factors” among the 64 parishes.
The report, done for each state, is called “The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps” program. A foundation spokesperson said the program “helps communities identify and implement solutions that make it easier for people to be healthy in their schools, work places and neighborhoods.”
He said the health rankings “illustrate what we know when it comes to what is making people sick or healthy.” The “roadmaps” aspect of the report focuses on “what we can do to create healthier places to live, learn, work and play.” Looking at the health-related factors in the statewide comparison, Avoyelles residents are fatter, smoke more, get less exercise, are more likely to die young, more likely to have a teenaged mother in the family and more likely to have a low birth-weight baby. If an Avoyelles Parish resident is killed in a motor vehicle accident, it is more likely to involve alcohol.
On the positive side, RWJF’s research found Avoyelles has a lower incidence of sexually transmitted infection, lower percentage of children in single-parent households, lower rate of violent crime and fewer injury deaths than the statewide averages. Avoyelles has a lower percentage of “excessive drinking” than the statewide average. Obesity rates One of the most “popular” comparisons of health statistics is the obesity rate.
One comedian has quipped that Louisiana should change its commemorative quarter to have a picture of two rotund fellows with the slogan “You Ain’t Fat Here, Friend” emblazoned on the coin. The national comparisons also bring to mind the state’s unofficial motto, “Thank God for Mississippi.”
The two neighbors have had a see-saw battle for the dubious honor of “fattest state” for the past several years. RWJ has not released a state-by-state list for 2014, but a check of the reports’ county-by-county reports for the states reveals, “We’re number 2!” Mississippi’s obesity rate is 36 percent while Louisiana’s is 34.
The other always-portly states follow with four at 33 percent (Arkansas, W. Virginia, Alabama and Kentucky) and three at 32 percent (Oklahoma, South Carolina and Michigan.) Colorado is once again the “skinniest” state at 20 percent. Avoyelles’ obesity rate is 39 percent. Neighbors Compared to six neighbors, Avoyelles is better than four in “health outcomes,” which uses factors such as length of life and quality of life.
It is only ahead of two in the “health factors” category which looks at unhealthy behaviors, socio-economic factors, environment and access/quality of medical treatment. In the first category, Avoyelles’ overall ranking of 45th compares to Pointe Coupee (23), Rapides (32), Evangeline (52), St. Landry (54), Concordia (55) and Catahoula (61). In the second category, Avoyelles overall ranking of 52nd compares to Pt. Coupee (15), Rapides (18), Evangeline (42), St. Landry (45), Concordia (53) and Catahoula (57). Statewide, St. Tammany is first and East Carroll is 64th in both categories. “Clinical care” low One of the parish’s lowest-ranking factors is in the area of “clinical care.” Avoyelles has only one primary care physician for every 2,993 residents. That compares to a 1,572:1 ratio statewide and 1,051:1 in the top nationwide counties. The ratio gets worse for dentists, 4,997:1 in the parish, 2,097:1 statewide and 1,439:1 for the national benchmark.
Access to mental health providers is even more scarce, with a 7,496:1 ratio for the parishcompared to 1,308:1 statewide and 536:1 for the national benchmark. The RWJ spokeperson said that after five years of the national study, “we continue to see significant gaps between the least healthy and healthiest counties.
The rankings show us that people living in the least healthy counties have twice the premature death rates than those living in the healthiest counties. There are also twice as many children living in poverty and teen births in the least healthy counties as in the healthiest counties.”
RWJF said its intent in the annual rankings is to inspire communities to become healthier and to take steps to address factors that indicate unhealthy conditions, habits and choices. It provides grants and programs to help communities in that effort. Grants and awards The foundation annually awards its Culture of Health Prize to communities working toward improving their overall health.
“The prize recognizes communities with strong and diverse partnerships that are coming together with a shared vision and commitment to address multiple factors that affect health and make lasting changes that create a culture of health for all,” the spokesperson said. He said government or community leaders can visit countyhealthrankings.org or rwjf.org/prize to learn about the work of past prize winners. RWJ also awards Roadmaps to Health Community Grants. Information on the grants is also at their website. He said grantees work “to create positive policy or systems changes that address social and economic factors that influence how healthy people are and how long they live -- such as education and community safety.”