What do Houstonians say is the biggest health problem facing their neighborhoods? Crime?
Nope.
Traffic?
Not even close.
Stray animals, according to the Health of Houston Survey 2010, released last year. That answer surprised me, and Stephen Linder, PhD, who developed the survey, the first of its kind to report the health of Houstonians by neighborhood within Harris County..
"That wasn’t what we expected," says Linder, associate director of the Institute for Health Policy at The University of Texas School of Public Health, in my Q&A for UT HealthLeader. "It was worst on the east side of Houston. Strays can be a big problem for neighborhoods, because they increase the risk of animal bites and rabies if you have a lot of animals that have not been inoculated. Usually children are at the highest risk for being bitten."
The population study included health information from more than 5,000 households in the Houston area. Other interesting facts about the health of Houston:
- An estimated 20 percent of Houstonians reported they are in poor or fair health—twice the national average.
- Houston had twice the national rate for risk of psychiatric illness. Not only that, the rate for women was twice as high as for men.
- Almost half of the survey’s residents (48 percent) were experiencing difficulty buying food or paying their mortgage in the 12 months prior to the survey (2010).
- Thirty-four percent of adults younger than 65 are without insurance. Compared to other groups, more Hispanic and African-American residents are without insurance.
When it comes to our health, our city definitely has room for improvement. Thankfully, public health experts like Linder are showing us where and how to focus our efforts. I am looking forward to seeing what the 2013 study yields. In the meantime, check out the Health of Houston website, and see how your neighborhood ranks.