General Health
San Benito County ranks 20th out of all California counties in the County Health Ranking for Health Outcomes1 and 21st in Quality of Life. In San Benito County, only 7% of the population is uninsured, compared to California, where 8% are uninsured.1 14% of San Benito County are smokers which is comparable to the California population of 11%. The implementation of the Affordable Care Act/Covered California will likely lower the number of uninsured and future reports should tell us more about the impact on the community.
Lung Health
According to the California Health Interview Survey, 14.3% of San Benito County residents are current smokers.2 The population with the highest smoking rates is Latino/Hispanic, 16.3% of whom smoke.
Overall, lung disease (including lung cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, asthma, influenza, and pneumonia) accounts for more death than any other health condition in California. Ranked by a three-year average, 15 people have died from lung disease.3 The population of San Benito is small though, only 57,000 people.
Lung Cancer
When it comes to lung cancer, San Benito County is ranked 19th in California with an age-adjusted death rate of 28.2 per 100,000 people. Lung cancer is the fourth largest killer in county residents. The mortality rate from lung cancer in the state of California is 28.9 per 100,000 people but the trend has been going down since the 1990s.3
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is the 10th leading cause of death in San Benito County residents with an age-adjusted rate of 32.3 deaths per 100,000 population, which is lower than the California death rate of 34.8.3 This statistic ranks San Benito County as number 16 in the State of California.
Asthma
According to the California Health Interview Survey, 9.8% of San Benito County residents have been diagnosed with asthma.2 47.8% of those people have had to visit an emergency room due to an asthma-related episode in the past 12 months.2 In addition to that statistic, 5.8% of those have been hospitalized for asthma.
Tuberculosis
In 2018, San Benito had no reported cases of tuberculosis. In 2016, they had just one reported case, which ranked them at number 33, according to the Provisional Tuberculosis Tables.4
Influenza/Pneumonia
Influenza and Pneumonia are the 11th leading cause of death in the state of California, with an age-adjusted death rate for San Benito County of 18.7 deaths per 100,000 people.3 This rate is lower than the previous rate of 20.9 deaths per 100,000 people.5 This ranks San Benito County as 52nd out of California’s 58 counties.3
Bibliography
1. Country Health Rankings. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2020, from https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/california/2019/rankings/outcomes/overall
2. California Health Interview Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2020, from http://ask.chis.ucla.edu/ask/SitePages/AskChisLogin.aspx?ReturnUrl=/AskCHIS/tools/_layouts/Authenticate.aspx?Source=%2FAskCHIS%2Ftools%2F%5Flayouts%2FAskChisTool%2Fhome%2Easpx&Source=/AskCHIS/tools/_layouts/AskChisTool/home.aspx#.
3. County Health Status Profiles 2018. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2020, from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/CDPH%20Document%20Library/CHSP-County%20Profiles%202018.pdf
4. California 2017 Provisional Tuberculosis Data Tables. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2020, from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPHDocumentLibrary/TBCB-TB-Provisional-Tables-2017.pdf
5. County Health Status Profiles 2017. (n.d.). Retrieved January 31, 2020, from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/CDPHDocumentLibrary/OHIRProfiles2017.pdf