Concepts and Theories of Health Behavior

The County Health Rankings provide an annual overview of how health is influenced by where people live, work, play, or learn. Interactive graphics are used to demonstrate the variation in health among different racial or ethnic groups in different states and counties. Interactive maps are used to show different counties in congressional districts and the health behaviors of their occupants. The County Health Rankings provide a starting point for change in communities because policymakers can create a list of Health Policies that work in their states and counties. This enables the healthcare stakeholders to establish programs that fulfill the community’s health priorities.

Cook County, Illinois, is ranked twenty-third under Health Behaviors. Health behaviors identified in the county are as follows: 28% adult obesity, 21%physical inactivity, 22%excessive drinking, and 31%alcohol-impaired driving deaths. My local county is DuPage County in the State of Illinois. The county is ranked third in Health Outcomes. Health Outcomes include Length of Life and Quality of Life. It is ranked second in terms of Length of Life and recorded 4,300 premature deaths. It is ranked sixth in terms of Quality of Life. Based on the quality of life, cases of low birthweight are 7%, and 13% of people have poor or fair health.

DuPage County is ranked first in Health factors, including Health Behaviors, Clinical Care, Social and Economic Factors, and Physical Environment. It is ranked first in Health Behaviors. The Health Behaviors in the county: adult smoking 12%, adult obesity 27%, physical inactivity 18%, access to exercise opportunities 100%, excessive drinking 20%, and alcohol-impaired driving deaths 25%. The county is ranked fourth in Clinical Care. Clinical Care in the county: Uninsured persons 6%, patients to primary care physician’s ratio 740:1, and 4037 preventable hospital stays. It is ranked second in Social and Economic factors: high school graduation 94%, unemployment 3.1 %, and children in poverty 8%. It is ranked ninety forth in Physical Environment.

A risk factor is an aspect that increases the probability of a particular outcome. The first risk factor for obesity is unhealthy lifestyle habits such as lack of physical exercise, consumption of too many calories, saturated and trans fats and foods with added sugars, lack of sufficient sleep, and stress (Fruh, 2017). The other risk factor for obesity is age, where most people gain weight in young adulthood and continue gaining until age 60 to 65. Genetics also plays a role in obesity. African-Americans are at the greatest risk based on ethnicity, followed by Hispanics. The risk factors for excessive drinking include peer pressure among young adults, high-stress levels, family or culture where alcohol use is common, and low self-esteem (Intertasc et al., 2017). The risk factors of physical inactivity include cultural norms of inactivity, fear of injury during exercise, and high cost of services (Panahi & Tremblay, 2018). People with tight schedules throughout the week are also likely to display physical inactivity because they can not create time for exercising. Identifying and avoiding the risk factors minimizes the occurrences the health behaviors

The other source of data for health behaviors is the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). It collects data from all States regarding Americans’ health-related risk behaviors, their chronic health conditions, and the use of preventive services (Pickens et al., 2018). Consequently, it is a powerful tool for targeting and developing health promotion activities that suit a community’s priorities. BRFSS was established in 1984, initially with only fifteen States; currently, it collects data in the entire 50 States, the District of Columbia, and three United States territories (Pickens et al., 2018). BRFSS completes approximately four hundred thousand adult interviews annually. This makes it the largest health survey system in the world.

References

Fruh, S. M. (2017). Obesity: Risk factors, complications, and strategies for sustainable long-term weight management. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 29, S3–S14. https://doi.org/10.1002/2327-6924.12510

Intertasc, T., Specialists, I., Resource, S. S. F., & Health, P. (2017). Supplement 1. Kelly et al, Alcohol and older people : a systematic review of barriers, facilitators and context of drinking in older people and implications for intervention design. Supplement 1. Kelly et al, Alcohol and older people : a systematic.

Panahi, S., & Tremblay, A. (2018). Sedentariness and Health: Is Sedentary Behavior More Than Just Physical Inactivity? Frontiers in Public Health, 6(September), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00258

Pickens, C., Pierannunzi, C., Garvin, W., & Town, M. (2018). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Surveillance for Certain Health Behaviors and Conditions Among States and Selected Local Areas-Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2015. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 67(9).

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