Introduction
Poor health when looked at on its own may not seem inconspicuous. However, poor health usually stems from many correlated symptoms. CDC found health status through surveys, asking “Would you say [your/their] health in general is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?” Poor health can stem from a list of factors, including unemployment, unhealthy housing, food insecurity, cigarette smoking, exposure to pollution and biohazards, poor diet, and inactivity. It is important to recognize areas with a high percentage of poor health and compare the areas with disparities with underlying factors.
Data
The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conducts a routine national survey known as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). In partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the CDC released local level estimates on Fair or Poor Health for 2020 and 2021
Results
In Morris County, NJ, the estimated prevalence of fair or poor health among adults aged 18-64 years (%) was 12.0 with 95% CI (10.7, 13.5), and the age-adjusted prevalence (%) was 11.0 (9.8, 12.3) in 2022. According to the Census 2022 county population estimates, 407,308 adults aged 18 years or older live in Morris. For Madison, NJ (min value of Madison), the estimated prevalence of fair or poor health among adults aged 18-64 years (%) was 8.4 with 95% CI (7.4, 9.4) in 2022. According to the Census 2020, there were 3,829 adults aged 18 years or older live in this tract.
Conclusion
Understanding locational differences in fair/poor health lends insight to local, county, and state health departments to see where targeted interventions can work to help out those who are in need. For more health information, the town of Madison health department is linked here.
Health measures are also valuable in an environmental sense as we gain a greater understanding of how our built and natural environments contribute to specific pathways of disease, poor health or resilience and good health.
About the Data
The CDC Places data sets are part of a series, spelling out the acronym as Place Level Analysis and Community Estimates. The latest estimates are for 2020 and 2021 for U.S. Census Tracts.
Other data sources visualized in the images here and on web maps are from the New Jersey Office of GIS (including County and Municipal Boundaries of New Jersey).
A web map of the county level PLACES results can be found here:
A web map of the census tract results for Madison can be found here: https://arcg.is/10qvOv
Page created by Theo Krueger and Chris Tobia.
