Obesity & Drug/Alcohol Abuse Most Pressing Local Health Issues (podcast)
Cuyahoga County residents pinpointed the health issues they see as important to their communities, in a recent survey by the public-health initiative known as “Hip-Cuyahoga.” ideastream’s Anne Glausser has the details.
“Hip-Cuyahoga” or the county’s Health Improvement Partnership, is a group of organizations aiming to improve health, in the county. It’s spear-headed by the Cuyahoga County Board of Health and includes local researchers, hospitals, nonprofits, and health departments.
They met last Friday (MARCH 2) and released findings from their county-wide “Quality of Life” survey.
Over 7000 surveys were completed over a six month period last year.
Residents identified what they see as the most pressing health issues facing the county, and drug and alcohol abuse along with obesity top the list.
Cuyahoga County’s Health Commissioner Terry Allan says that issues like these need attention and that obesity is a key concern:
ALLAN: If you look across the board, it appeared that issues around obesity, and the costs associated with obesity and the resulting illnesses associated with obesity—heart disease, diabetes, other related chronic conditions, seemed to stem from that issue. That’s among the top ones that we’re concerned about.
Mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety and stress, were also high on the list, followed by violence, aging issues, and tobacco use.
The group will continue to work the data from the surveys and plan to share their findings widely across the county.
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