ROCKFORD — Older Rockford-area residents are smoking less, eating healthier and exercising more, resulting in a smaller percentage having high blood pressure compared with the state and nation.
That's one of the upsides reported in the Rockford Regional Health Council 2017 Healthy Community Study released Tuesday at a news conference at the Nordlof Center. In Winnebago and Boone counties, 52.3 percent of Medicare recipients have been diagnosed with hypertension, lower than the state (56.7 percent) and U.S. (55.1 percent).
On the other hand, 33.4 percent of local residents are obese, higher than the state at 27 percent and the nation at 27.5 percent. Poverty, access to healthy food and activity friendly spaces, as well as lack of education about nutrition and following nutritional guidelines are culprits, according to community leaders who responded to surveys as part of the study.
These were a few of dozens of findings in the every-three-years study that cost $75,000 and was paid for by several groups including the three hospital systems that operate in Rockford, United Way of Rock River Valley and Winnebago County. Findings are based on results of 1,630 surveys returned from a random community survey, through surveys sent home with schoolchildren in Rockford and Belvidere, and community leaders. The study was done by Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies.
"In general, we are healthier as a population," said Steve Ernst, chairman of the study's steering committee. “But segments are getting worse.”
.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
Becky Cook Kendall, executive director of the Health Council, said its role is to "alert the community about the results we obtained through our study, and the next step is a call to action." The group brings partnerships together to accelerate progress, she said.
About 50 community leaders attended the news conference, and they were asked to consider signing up to help in any of the six key focus areas. A few findings in those areas:
• Cardiovascular: 26 percent of local adults reported they are not taking medication for their high blood pressure.
• Obesity: Of obese adults, 19 percent reported asthma, COPD, emphysema and chronic bronchitis, compared with 11 percent of the overall population.
• Behavioral health: In 2016, the local area had 127 mental health care providers — psychiatrists, psychologist, clinical social workers and counselors — for every 100,000 residents, substantially lower than the state (180) and nation (202).
• Access to care: The Affordable Care Act reduced by half the number of adults and children who lacked health insurance. But among those with less than a high school education, 24 percent of adults say it is hard for them to understand information that doctors and nurses and other health professionals tell them.
• Oral health: The most frequent reasons given for the inability to access dental care were no dental insurance (47 percent), dentist refused to take insurance/Medicaid (22 percent) and could not afford co-pay (18 percent).
• Maternal/prenatal/early childhood: While the incidence of teen births and low birth weight babies is declining, the birth rate for teenaged females in the local area was 29.8 per 1,000 teenaged females. The state rate was 22.3.
Ernst said he expects opioids to be a future focus of the group. In Winnebago County, the number of fatal overdoses in 2017 — most from opioids — was 122 through Dec. 15, according to the latest figures available from the Winnebago County Coroner's Office.
Georgette Braun: 815-987-1331; gbraun@rrstar.com; @GeorgetteBraun