Report Highlights W.F. Health Status - KAUZ-TV: Newschannel 6 Now | Wichita Falls, TX

WICHITA FALLS - The Wichita County Public Health District announced Tuesday that a report entitled Wichita County Health Facts is complete. The report was written by Dr. Kirk Harlow at Midwestern State in collaboration with leadership at the Health District. It presents a compilation of various data that provides a picture of the health status for Wichita County.

Letters will be mailed to a group of community leaders in the health field that include the full report and an invitation to meet and discuss the findings and how to proceed as a group. This work will include conducting a Community Health Improvement Plan.

All of this is done with the vision of the Health District in mind: Healthy People, Healthy Community.

Some noteworthy results based on the available data are:

Factors negatively affecting community health:

• High birth rate to women under 18
• High obesity rates
• High proportion of physically inactive adults
• High proportion of excessive drinking
• Increasing older population
• High proportion of uninsured
• Low median household income

Factors positively affecting community health:

• Improving economy
• Decline in tobacco use
• Use of flu vaccine
• Proportion indicating physical activity increasing
• Low rates of binge drinking

Good access to health services:

• Health status problem areas:
• High rates of heart disease
• High rates of cancer
• High infant mortality rates
• High low-birth weight rates