State Health Assessment Lists Rural Communities in Need of More Care

AZ State Health AssessmentAJO, Arizona – Arizona’s first State Health Assessment listed Ajo among Arizona communities with the highest health risk outside of the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. Conducted by the Arizona Department of Health Services, the assessment considered factors such as access to health care facilities and professionals, maternal care, mortality and environmental health.

Income is a major social determinant of health when considering health disparities and level of health risk of an individual or a community. The ability to access health services, prevention, and treatment depends on insurance and having the capacity to pay. Lack of income also plays a role in families’ ability to access healthy foods; maintain safe, affordable housing; and stay in school. According to the US Census, 19% (1.2 million) of Arizona families live in poverty. When low income is combined with health risk, the result is an elevated risk for poor health outcomes for families in that community.

The highest health risk communities Statewide, 2008-2012:

    • Ajo
    • Bisbee
    • Casa Grande
    • Coolidge
    • Douglas
    • Eloy
    • Globe-Hayden
    • Holbrook
    • Kingman
    • Round Valley
    • Winslow
    • Tribal Communities: Hopi Nation, Havasupai Indian Community, Hualapai Tribe, Navaho Tribe, Pasqua Yaqui Tribe, San Carlos Apache Tribe, Tohono O’odham Nation and White Mountain Apache Tribe

(Source: Arizona Department of Health Services)

The list of services one can’t get in Ajo is long: no prenatal care, no specialty doctors, no nursing home, no home-health nurses, no physical therapy. Desert Senita health center now has the only pharmacy in town after the owner of the other pharmacy retired. The health center does have a lab on site, but insurance regulations dictate what kind of tests it can do.  The lab often has to send patients or lab work to Phoenix or Tucson – 130 miles away – to be tested.

Will Humble, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said the assessment will help his team make decisions on health care services around the state.

“One of our tasks is to help identify those areas that are in most need and put together evidence-based health outcomes that are targeted so we pick and choose the areas we’re likely to be most effective,” Humble said.

To better understand the health status of Arizona’s population, the Arizona Department of Health Services partnered with each of the county health departments to conduct a Community Health Assessment. This assessment included the collection and analysis of data from the community and information from a variety of sources. The result of this collaborative process is the State Health Assessmnet (SHA) report.

The SHA report helps to prioritize health issues, communities in need and effectively allocate resources to improve the health and wellness of all Arizonans. The SHA report is one of the three accreditation prerequisites set forth by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), and will help ADHS deliver the core functions which encompass assessment, policy development and assurance. ADHS is partnering with local health departments and other public health organizations to accomplish this collaborative effort. The goal of accreditation is to assess the health department’s ability to deliver these three core functions, in addition to the ten essential services of public health. The next one.