Population Health and Public Health

Solution Preview

Hello,
Please find below a guideline on the barriers to overcome in North Carolina in order of priority.
Feel free to come back with any questions.
If you are happy, please drop me a grade.

Thank You for using BrainMass

Regards

Population Health and public Health

Which of the various barriers are likely the most important to overcome in North Carolina? A weak safety net? Poor provider performance? Cultural or language barriers? Education?

From the available research studies conducted in North Carolina, the most important barriers to overcome in order of priority are Education followed by a weak safety net followed by cultural /language barriers

Background state of Health in NC

North Carolina is currently ranked in the bottom third of many national health measures and 35th in overall health status (Healthy NCDHHS 2011). These
North Carolina has ranked around the bottom third of all states for many major health indicators, including but not limited to obesity, smoking, premature death, infant mortality, and cardiovascular death over the past two decades (United Health Foundation 2010).
For example, in 2008, 9% of people in North Carolina had been diagnosed with diabetes, compared to 8% nationally.
Sixty-six percent of North Carolinians are overweight (slightly higher than the national rate of 63%) and 21% of adults smoke, compared to 18% nationally.
The death rate in North Carolina was 834 per 100,000 people in 2007, as compared to the national rate of 760 per 100,000 people (Kelly et.al 2014)
The following points will justify the position on the priority barriers to overcome:
1. Education
1.1. North Carolina has a very high dropout rate compared to other states(for example In 2000, 27.3% of rural North Carolinians did not complete high school, whereas 19.2% of urban North Carolinians did not complete high school(Kelly 2014)).
1.2. The mortality rate also shows a direct association with the academic achievement(for example it has been found that in North Carolina the age-adjusted mortality rate of high school dropouts ages 25-64 is twice as large as the rate of those with some college education. They are also more likely to suffer from the most acute and chronic health conditions, including heart disease, hypertension, stroke, elevated cholesterol, emphysema, diabetes, asthma attacks, and ulcers(North Carolina Institute of Medicine 2010). This makes education a top priority.
1.3. It is reported that academic achievement and education seem to be strongly correlated with health as People with more years of education are likely to live longer and healthier lives (North Carolina Institute of Medicine 2010).
1.4. The economic and employment disparity between urban and rural areas in North Carolina may be partly attributable to the difference in education levels for example, nationally, North Carolina ranks 39th in the ...