2013 Report

40%
SOCIAL & ECONOMIC FACTORS

Social economic factors include education, employment, income, family, social support, and community safety. These play the most significant role in health outcomes. In this category, education and unemployment represent Louisville’s most strategic challenges.

Education

It’s well known that education leads to better jobs and higher income but it’s also linked to reduced risk of illness, increased vitality and longevity. The GLP traditionally reports the percentage of working-age adults with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher to measure progress in its Education Deep Driver. In 2011, Louisville ranked 11th among peers on this measure, with 31% of its working-age adults with a four-year degree or higher.

Employment

The unemployed experience more health problems and higher mortality than the employed population. This is attributed to loss of employer-sponsored health insurance and an increase in unhealthy behaviors related to alcohol and tobacco consumption, diet, and exercise. Louisville’s 2011 unemployment rate was 10%, ranking it 12th among peers.

30%
HEALTH BEHAVIORS

Health behaviors include smoking, diet and exercise and alcohol use. In this category, smoking and obesity represent Louisville’s most strategic challenges.

Obesity

Each year, obesity-related conditions cost more than $150 billion and cause an estimated 300,000 premature deaths in the US. The health effects associated with obesity include but are not limited to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and cancer. One in 3 Louisville adults (34%) are obese, ranking 14th among peer cities.

Smoking

The adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for an estimated 443,000 deaths or nearly 1 of every five deaths, each year in the United States. Today, 24%, or more than 1 in 5 Louisville adults smoke, ranking 14th among 15 peer cities.

10%
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The physical environment category includes the built environment, like buildings, roads, parks, restaurants, and grocery stores and environmental factors like clean air and water In this category, air quality is Louisville’s most strategic challenge.

Air Quality

The relationship between elevated air pollution, particularly fine particulate matter and ozone, and compromised health has been well documented. Negative consequences of ambient air pollution include decreased lung function, chronic bronchitis, and asthma. Fine particulate matter can be directly emitted from sources such as forest fires, or can form then when gases emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles react in the air. Louisville ranks 8th among peers on daily fine particulate matter, also known as PM2.5.

20%
CLINICAL CARE

The clinical care category includes access to care - the % of population without health insurance and access to dentists and physicians; and quality of care - the % of certain populations that receive health screenings or have preventable hospital stays. In this category, access to primary care physicians represents Louisville’s most strategic challenge.

Access To
Physicians

Access to Physicians

An increase of just 1 primary-care physician per 10,000 people reduces average mortality by more than 5%. The Affordable Care Act is expected to increase the number of office visits to primary care physicians by 22% by the year 2025. Louisville ranks in the middle—8th among peers—on access to primary care physicians, with one physician for every 1,103 residents.