A new report on the overall health of Kansas ranks Sedgwick County in the bottom fourth of the state.
The 2019 County Health Rankings Report helps counties understand how healthy their residents are and how long they will live by examining health data.
The report ranked 102 of the 105 counties in Kansas from healthiest to unhealthiest based on two broad categories: health factors and health outcomes.
For the 2019 Health Factors category, Sedgwick County ranked 87 of 102 for the second year in a row. In 2017, it ranked 79.
Health factors represent things that can be modified to lengthen and improve the quality of life, such as diet, exercise and tobacco use.
In the Health Outcomes category, Sedgwick County ranked 76. In 2017, it ranked 60.
Health outcomes measure the physical and mental well-being of residents. The report looked at two health outcome categories: length of life and quality of life.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Institute released the Kansas rankings as part of its County Health Rankings & Roadmaps project. The yearly rankings are meant to show counties how health is influenced by where we live, work, and play by gathering data about each county in all 50 states.
To learn more, go to www.countyhealthrankings.org.
Audrey Korte is an intern in the KMUW News Lab.
