(Chelsea Update would like to thank Kayla Steinberg for the information in this story.)
The Health Improvement Plan (HIP) of Washtenaw County recently announced that the results of the most recent countywide HIP survey and Encuesta Buenos Vecinos (Latino Health Survey) online.
This data provides a wealth of information about our collective health and is available in both English and Spanish at https://healthsurveys.ewashtenaw.org.
“HIP survey data helps us see where we can improve health and be most effective in our own community,” says Laura Bauman, RN, MPH, epidemiology manager with Washtenaw County Public Health and member of the HIP coordinating team in a press release. “We can see where differences in health exist within our community and work with local leaders and partners to support positive changes.”
The HIP data website is a valuable resource for the entire community. Washtenaw County Public Health and the HIP partnership use the data to develop shared health improvement goals. The survey results also provide local data to help guide countless health programs, policies and systems throughout the county. In addition, news organizations can find thousands of stories within this abundant set of data.
The HIP survey has been completed every five years since 1995. Over 2,900 local residents participated in confidential phone interviews in 2015. The new data can be compared to survey data from prior years and to the Encuesta Buenos Vecinos, a health survey of nearly 500 Washtenaw County Latinos.
Residents visiting the HIP database can search survey questions and view results according to the respondents’ area of residence, gender, age, race, income, formal education, health insurance and other factors. The data can now be cross tabulated, meaning viewers can explore more than one question at a time.
According to the survey data:
Fewer Washtenaw residents are without health insurance. Only eight percent of 2015 respondents reported not having health insurance compared with 11 percent in 2010. Younger residents and residents with less than a high school degree were more likely to be uninsured.
Rates of overweight and obesity declined for the first time since the HIP survey began. In 2015, 56 percent of Washtenaw adults reported they were overweight or obese, compared to 59 percent five years earlier. Respondents with a college degree and respondents living on the western side of the county were less likely to report being overweight or obese.
Health status varies by social factors, including race, income and education level. Ninety percent of white respondents reported they had excellent, very good or good general health status, compared to 81 percent of Latino and 72 percent of black respondents. Higher income households and more formally educated respondents were also more likely to be in excellent, very good or good health.
Nearly half of Washtenaw adults reported at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week. Walking was the main type of exercise reported in 2015. Black adults and those with annual incomes under $20,000 were less likely to report at least 150 minutes of regular physical activity per week.
Overall, 19 percent of Washtenaw adults reported they had ever been diagnosed with depression in 2015, down slightly from 22 percent in 2010. Respondents with Medicaid were more likely to report a depression diagnosis.
See details about the above survey questions and more at http://hip.ewashtenaw.org.
