Spokane County not meeting healthy expectations for bullying, preschool immunization, maternal smoking, dental decay among children, youth depression and child abuse

For more information, please contact Kim Papich, SRHD Public Information Officer, (509) 324-1539

SPOKANE, Wash. – Dec 18, 2013 – Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) Community Health Assessment, Planning and Evaluation (Assessment) program staff announced today the release of newly updated health data on its Spokane Counts 2013 web site, srhd.org/spokane-counts, providing the community with 24/7 access to over 60 local indicators of health.
 
Spokane Counts 2013 indicators demonstrate changes within Spokane County over time, and, when available, make comparisons between Spokane County, Washington state, and the United States. Rankings for these indicators of health can also be found on the site—high scores showing that Spokane County did not meet expectations of health in that category. The highest scores were for bullying, preschool immunization, maternal smoking, dental decay among children, youth depression and child abuse.
 
Due to increased awareness around how several of these indicators are tied to violence in the community,  SRHD Assessment staff will conduct an additional assessment in 2014 covering violence and its outcomes locally.
 
The lowest scores, where Spokane County did meet expectations of health, were for vaccine-preventable diseases, drowning, preterm births, tuberculosis and correction of septic system failure.
 
Other published Spokane Counts 2013 data includes:

• Environmental indicators, including food safety service, showing that 92 percent of food service establishments in Spokane County had fewer than the critical number of violations when inspected. Other indicators include air quality and food and waterborne disease.
• Health Behavior indicators, including a significant decrease in the proportion of adolescents binge drinking. Other indicators include binge drinking, breastfeeding, youth fruit and vegetable intake, youth illicit drug and adult narcotic use, physical activity and smoking.
• Health Care indicators, including 28.5 percent of Spokane youth reporting being depressed in the last year. Other indicators include dental check-up, insured adults, mammograms and sigmoidoscopy/colonoscopy numbers.
• Health Status indicators, showing that among youth in Spokane County, 18 percent experience food insecurity. Other indicators include asthma, cancer, childhood disability, diabetes, general health, obesity, poor mental health, stroke and adult tooth loss.
• Infectious Disease indicators, such as 431 inpatient hospitalizations where the individual had a drug-resistant infection. Other indicators include flu shots and sexually-transmitted infections.
• Injury and Violence indicators, showing that the rate of domestic violence and child abuse for Spokane County are significantly higher than Washington state rates. Other indicators include adverse childhood experiences, bike pedestrian collisions, drowning, suicides and unintentional injuries.
• Reproductive Health indicators, including 66 percent of sexually-active youth reporting using a condom the last time they had sex. Other indicators include abortion rates, pregnancies and unintended pregnancies, and preterm births.
• Also at srhd.org/spokane-counts, there are summary measures for Spokane County deaths, infant mortality, life expectancy and life satisfaction.

SRHD Assessment staff first published Spokane Counts: A Technical Summary of Selected Public Health Indicators in 2003. This document provided baseline data demonstrating the health status of Spokane residents and some individual risk behaviors that contribute to health outcomes. Since then, staff update Spokane Counts’ indicators biennially to monitor the population’s health and the data more accessible by creating the Spokane Counts site.
 
More information about Spokane Counts and SRHD’s Assessment program can be found at srhd.org. Spokane Regional Health District’s web site also offers comprehensive, updated information about Spokane Regional Health District and its triumphs in making Spokane a safer and healthier community. Become a fan of SRHD on Facebook to receive local safety and wellness tips. You can also follow us on Twitter @spokanehealth.