Photo provided by Mary Holleran/Rochester   Area Community Foundation

To understand a community's health status, we must look beyond the health of individuals to that of the population as a whole. A population approach to health considers a number of factors that interact to impact our health. Called the "determinants of health," these factors include the physical, social and economic environment in which we live, work and play, individual characteristics and behaviors, and our use of the health-care services.

This section takes a population-based approach to our region's health by exploring measures of access to health care, the prevalence of selected diseases, mortality rates and behavioral health practices. 

The data suggest that our region fares better than others across the state in selected measures of access. We have lower uninsured rates and, despite a significant increase in enrollments in recent years, lower rates of people covered by Medicaid.  Though our area is feeling the effects of the statewide shortage of physicians, the number of doctors needed locally to fill the gap is lower than in other parts of the state.  Similarly (and perhaps correspondingly), our rates of preventable hospital admissions are lower than those seen statewide. 

The news is not as encouraging for sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs). 

Though the data shows a promising 45% drop in gonorrhea, the rate is still notably higher here than in New York state as a whole (120 per 100,000 residents compared with 88 per 100,000 residents). The rate for City of Rochester residents is 178 per 100,000 residents.  Moreover, the chlamydia rate in our region has increased by an alarming 147% in recent years, much greater than the increase in either the state (46%) or nation (27%).  On a positive note, this increase may be due, at least in part, to better detection of the disease, which in turn provides the potential for better control. Increases in the rates of HIV and AIDS (not transmitted exclusively through sexual contact) are comparable to those seen elsewhere in the state (excluding New York City) and cases are largely concentrated in Monroe County.

The measures for this topic are listed under the "Indicators-at-a-Glance" heading on this page. By clicking on any of these indicators, you can view the details relating to that measure, including the source of the data and any limitations. You can also view this information in a variety of charts and graphs. To gain a broader context for the measures, click on the "Trends" tab. For information about community efforts to address the issues presented by the indicators, click on the "What's Being Done" section. The "Resources" tab provides links to a variety of information sources.

Banner photo provided by iStockphoto.com

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