Seniors ' Health Rankings : Where does your state rank ?
It ’ s well known that where you live can influence your health . The recently released United Health Foundation ’ s 2018 America ’ s Health Rankings Senior Report dives into this issue . The sixth annual report finds that older adults who live in rural areas often experience poorer health outcomes and receive fewer preventive services than those in urban and suburban environments . It also sheds light on how states rank related to certain behaviors and health outcomes .
The report found that seniors in rural areas are 13 percent more likely to be physically inactive than their peers in suburban and urban areas ; 7 percent less likely to receive the flu vaccination than those in urban areas ; and 11 percent less likely to receive health screenings compared with suburban and urban peers .
“ It is our goal with this report to help seniors , family caregivers and advocates better understand the specific health concerns in their own communities so we can all work together to address them ,” said Dr . Rhonda Randall , senior adviser to the United Health Foundation and chief medical officer and executive vice president , UnitedHealthcare Retiree Solutions . “ By examining the differences in health between seniors living in rural areas and those living in urban and suburban
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areas , for example , we believe we can empower communities to help seniors access the resources and services they need to live happier , healthier lives .”
The health determinants in the report are grouped into four measurement areas : behaviors , community / environment , policy and clinical care . Related to behaviors , the report looked at six metrics : smoking , excessive drinking , obesity , physical inactivity , dental visits and pain management . Utah was the top-ranked state for overall health and behavioral measures , ranking in the top five for the smoking , drinking and physical activity categories . Pennsylvania made the most progress in behavioral measures , improving its behavioral ranking from 50 to 21 and seeing the largest increase in score .
Several states ’ overall health rankings moved five or more places since 2017 . Iowa and Pennsylvania made the most progress , both improving nine spots , while Arizona and Washington experienced the largest declines , dropping eight and seven ranks , respectively .
While these rankings might seem unrelated to daily life , keep in mind that many of the measures are made up of the actions of individuals . There are many things you can do to help improve your own health , from making sure to schedule regular dentist appointments to being more