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Better Education = Healthier Lives
The Rankings recognize the strong correlation between higher educational attainment and improved health by measuring counties’ high school graduation rates and the percentage of adults (ages 25-44) with some post-secondary education.
Better health through civic health
How do the opportunities to vote, have a say in our futures and connect in our communities impact our health? Hosts Ericka Burroughs-Girardi and Beth Silver explore civic health and its connection to everyone’s health. We kick off the series with Julia Kaufman, a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, who explains why civic infrastructure is important and how it’s tied to health equity. We’re also joined by Dawn Hunter of the Network for Public Health Law and the lead author of the Health & Democracy Index, who explains the link between restrictive voting policies and poorer health outcomes.
Beyond Ranks: Measuring Progress in Your Community
How does a community measure how they’re doing on health improvement? To answer this question, County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program staff hosted a webinar to help participants locate various data sources, develop a plan for measuring their community improvement, and answer community specific questions.
While the County Health Rankings are...
Bill Would Mandate All-Day Kindergarten in Rhode Island
Rhode Island lawmakers are considering a bill that would mandate all-day kindergarten statewide. More than half of Rhode Island students currently have the opportunity to attend kindergarten all day.
Breaking Down the Rankings Model: Tobacco and Alcohol Use
Tobacco use and excessive drinking are both leading causes of preventable death in the United States. Over 20 percent or the US adult population currently smokes cigarettes and 15 percent of adults drink excessively. The burden of tobacco use and alcohol is taking a large toll on the health of local communities throughout the United...
Bringing a public health focus to gun policies
More than 41,000 people in the United States die from gun violence every year. Our team recently updated gun policy strategies in our What Works for Health database featuring the latest research, evidence and implementation examples.
BUILD Health Challenge Awards Announced
On June 9th, the BUILD Health Challenge held an event to announce grants to 18 communities for innovative projects to improve health in low-income communities. Created by the Advisory Board Company, the de Beaumont Foundation, the Colorado Health Foundation, The Kresge Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the challenge...
Building a Culture of Health means being attentive to biases
We, at County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, like many across the country, are working to deepen our efforts around health equity. We created an internal work group on health equity in early 2015 to further support a foundation for health equity by enriching our understanding of the barriers and opportunities for everyone to be their healthiest, and by growing our confidence in...
Building a foundation for civic health
Students’ social studies scores have plummeted, due in part to disinvestment in civic education. Yet, studies show a clear connection between the civics foundation laid in schools and participation in our democracy into adulthood. And creating strong civic health equals healthier communities overall. Host Ericka Burroughs-Girardi kicks off the series with civic education expert Dr. Kelly Siegel-Stechler, a Tufts University senior researcher at the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), Siegel-Stechler discusses why improving democracy and our health requires shifting mindsets and investing in civic education.