Report: Violence, Housing Costs Affect Health Outcomes
A report out Tuesday published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute ranks the health of all 67 counties in Alabama.
Researchers used data from more than 30 sources to analyze health outcomes across Alabama. This year, Shelby County comes in first. Jefferson County ranks in the top third. The report compares differences within the state based on location as well as race and ethnicity.
Giridhar Mallya, a senior policy officer with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says the county ranking is based on a wide range of factors, such as education, violence and poverty.
“And what we can see is that the vast majority of people’s health is actually affected by things outside the doctor’s office,” Mallya says. “One of the things we focused on this year is how housing costs can affect people’s health.”
For example, in Lowndes County, which ranks last on the list, almost 20% of households spend over half their income on housing. Mallya says this leaves less money to cover health care costs.
Overall, several counties in the state’s Black Belt region ranked lowest in this year’s report.
What happened when Lyndon Johnson federalized the National Guard
President Lyndon B. Johnson federalized the National Guard in 1965, calling on troops to protect civil rights advocates who were marching from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery.
Trump mobilizes Marines for duty in Los Angeles
U.S. Northern Command says the infantry battalion would be supporting the National Guard troops "who are protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area."
RFK Jr. boots all members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee
Health Secretary RFK Jr. has removed all 17 members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. He says replacing them with new members will help restore 'public trust' in vaccines.
Justin Baldoni’s $400 million defamation suit against Blake Lively dismissed
Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit was in response to Lively accusing him of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us.
Sly Stone, visionary funk frontman of the Family Stone, has died at age 82
The musical visionary led a multi-racial funk band that produced five Top 10 hits in the late 1960s and early '70s.
Pam Bondi’s brother overwhelmingly defeated in heated race to lead the D.C. Bar
The race became a microcosm for the clashes and pressures on the American legal system this year, in part because one of the two top candidates is the younger brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi.
