Cook County Department of Public Health WePLAN
2015
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respondents also identified low crime rates, safe neighborhoods and access to healthcare as leading
elements needed to make a community a healthy place to live – characteristics that all communities
should share, recognizing that some do not.
While respondents felt that access to healthcare was an important component of a healthy
community, barriers to healthcare were evident. Among the most important barriers to care
indicated by the community were lack of insurance, lack of ability to pay for healthcare services and
lack of ability to pay for medicines/prescriptions, factors that impact low income residents and
impact the heath communities with fewer resources. Not surprisingly, lower income respondents
were more likely to report that their health was not good, or fair at best.
From the survey data, the Community Planning Committee recognized a common theme of
disparity, primarily related to access to services and the impact of economic opportunity. These
were evident in the responses related to access to primary care, concerns about mental health and
chronic diseases, and in the variations in access seen by socioeconomic status. For example, while
most respondents indicated that they had access to healthy food, nearly 1 in 6 did not, raising
questions about whether this was an acceptable standard in a suburban areas in one of our country’s
largest cities. The need for more equitable distribution of social and community services was also
identified by the Committee, recognizing the importance of improved systems and better
coordination as a means of addressing this issue.
Community Health Status Assessment
From a comprehensive review of births, disease morbidity, mortality and risk factors, the following
key findings were reported.
Improvements in health status were seen in these indicators:
Coronary heart disease mortality decreased by 20% from 145.6/100,000 in 2000-2002 to
166.0/100,000 in 2005-2007. In 2006, the coronary heart disease mortality rate for the U.S.
was (135.0/100,000). The HP2010 for this disease was 166/100,000.
Cerebrovascular (stroke) mortality decreased by 18% from 55.4/100,000 to 45.5/100,000
between 2000-2002 and 2005-2007. In 2006 the U.S. rate for cerebrovascular disease
mortality was 43.6/100,000. With a cerebrovascular mortality rate of 52.1/100,000 in 2005-
2007, the South District was the only region in SCC to not meet the HP2010 goal of
48/100,000 for this disease.
Teen birth rates among 15-19 year olds decreased by 8% from 35.8 births per 1,000 females
age 15-19 years to 32.9 birth per 1,000 females age 15-19 years between 2000-2002 and
2005-2007. In 2006, the U.S. teen birth rate was 44.3 births per 1,000 females age 15-19
years.
Declines in health status were seen for these indicators:
Chlamydia incidence rate increased 56% among ages 15-19 years from 1,168.1/100,000 to
1,825.0/100,000 between 2000-2002 to 2006-2008.
Gonorrhea incidence rate rose 26% for youth ages 15-19 from 447.9/100,000 in 2000-2002
to 575.4/100,001,168.1 in 2006-2008.