The ninth annual County Health Rankings report shows that where you live impacts a person’s health.  This year’s data also includes a look at how racial disparity plays into health across Indiana.

The report finds black people have lower life expectancy and quality of life than white or Asian people in Indiana.  The rankings account for measurements including healthy behaviors, access to care, social and economic factors and environment.

Senior advisor at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Dr. Dwayne Proctor says health is directly influenced by where you live and begs questions about disparity.

“Is it healthy for us to have more convenient stores and liquor stores in a community than places for people to get food?” Proctor says. “Is it good for our county or state if people have to drive 45-50 miles in a medical emergency just to get quality care?”

Proctor says Indiana’s overall poor health factors are related to poor health outcomes.

“When you are looking at these diabetes rates and smoking rates, what we’re talking about is your life expectancy is connected to the future and what the future holds,” says Proctor.

The report provides data for communities to guide policy change that could help close health gaps.

All 92 counties in Indiana are assessed to create the rankings. Hamilton County is the healthist for the ninth year in a row.  This year Fayette County ranks at the bottom.

Scott County: Last No More

Fayette County takes the bottom spot in county health rankings from Scott County for the first time in nine years.  But Scott County didn’t move far, coming in at second-to-last.

The community gained nationwide attention for an HIV outbreak in 2015.  As part of its efforts to combat new infections, the state setup a one-stop-shop where residents could learn more about insurance coverage and get access to healthcare.   Public Health Nurse Brittany Combs says the data is proof their efforts to improve healthcare since then are working.

“It takes a lot of time and sometimes people get impatient, and they’re like, ‘Are you doing anything good, are you doing anything good?’  But we are, and now we’re starting to see some of that.”

But some healthcare providers in Scott County say some services are still lacking.  The county is far behind the rest of the state when it comes to mental health services.  The average patient to mental health provider ratio in Indiana is 700-to-1.  In Scott County, it’s 3,000-to-1.