Prevention and Wellness In the United States, 7 of the 10 leading causes of death are due to chronic illnesses that can often be prevented by adopting healthy behaviors and reducing health risk factors such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and obesity.9 In addition to reducing risk factors, adherence to preventive screenings and care can greatly reduce the incidence of chronic disease and greatly improve quality of life. County Health Rankings County Health Rankings have analyzed localities in all 50 states using measures to determine how healthy people are and how long they live. These measures include (1) health outcomes which look at how long people live (mortality) and how healthy people feel while alive (morbidity); and (2) health factors which represent what influences the health of a county, including health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment.10 The lower the overall ranking, the healthier the community.
Pulaski had the highest rankings (least healthy) by far of the other municipalities in the New River Valley in both health outcomes and health factors.
County Health Rankings-Health Outcomes (out of 133) Geography
2011
2012
2013
Floyd County
48
62
53
Montgomery County
34
32
23
1220
119
119
63
68
65
Pulaski County Radford City
County Health Rankings-Health Factors (out of 133) Geography
2011
2012
2013
Floyd County
55
49
52
Montgomery County
34
26
22
Pulaski County
79
87
93
Radford City
28
33
9
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC’s Health Communities Program accessed 8/11/2012, http://www.cdc.gov/healthycommunitiesprogram/overview/diseasesandrisks.htm 10 University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute & the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, County Health Rankings, www.countyhealthrankings.org, 2013
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