By Nathan Ham
AppHealthCare announced on Wednesday that through a collaboration with numerous agencies as well as surveys and data collection, a community health report was put together for each of the three counties (Watauga, Ashe and Alleghany) in the AppHealthCare district.
The report for each county is put together every three years. The Watauga County report was compiled through partnerships with Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, the Watauga Compassionate Community Initiative, Appalachian District Board of Health and AppHealthCare.
As part of the community health report, multiple factors are included in determining what the greatest needs and concerns are for the county. Several of those data points include household income, poverty level, food insecurity, unemployment data, community safety, affordable housing and mental/behavioral health.
According to the report for Watauga County, the three biggest areas to focus community resources on are mental health, housing and family/social support systems.
Some of the key data points collected from surveys showed that 14% of the population reported running out of food and lacked the financial means to obtain more food and 19% of the population in Watauga County were worried that they would run out of food at some point. A quarter of the county population surveyed said that at some point over the last year, they had to quarantine at home due to possible exposure to COVID-19.
The largest concern for the county revolved around mental health issues. A total of 79% of the county’s population believe that mental health support and resources were needed or extremely needed. 80% of those surveyed felt like a substance addiction treatment and recovery program was needed or extremely needed and 61% of those surveyed said that a syringe exchange service was needed or extremely needed.
Cancer and heart disease are the two leading causes of death in Watauga County. Alzheimer’s disease ranks third followed by chronic lower respiratory disease and unintentional injuries sustained in accidents. Suicide continues to climb and is the ninth leading cause of death in Watauga County.
On a more positive note, Watauga County was ranked 10th out of the 100 North Carolina counties for overall health in the 2020 County Health Rankings and ranked below the state average in adult obesity, teen birthrate and sexually transmitted disease infections. Watauga County’s poverty rate is also decreasing. In 2015, 31.4% of the population were living below the Federal Poverty Guidelines (a family of four with a household income of less than $24,600). That number has dropped to 25.3%.
The violent crime rate in Watauga County is nearly four times lower than that of the rest of the state, according to data from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s annual crime reporting data in 2019. Violent crime includes homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
Overall, life expectancy at birth in Watauga County is 81.3 years, compared to 78.2 years for North Carolina overall. On average, women in the county live to be 83.8 years while men live to be 79 years old.
The complete 66-page report can be read below.
You must be logged in to post a comment.