Healthcare

From San Diego Public Policy and Fiscal History
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Population Health

The Population Health of San Diego County has been reported to score a 78 out of 100 on the scale of this category. It is defined on the understanding of what exactly the Population Health category measures the healthy behaviors, health conditions, mental health and resulting health outcomes within the different communities/population residing in San Diego County.[1] For more detail on understanding what population health is and what it measures the National Library of Medicine does a deeper dive into this stating that it is the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of outcomes within the group that includes health outcomes, patterns if health determinants, and policies and interventions that may link the two aforementioned.[2]


The population health report of San Diego County reported some key points that showed the county’s approach to overcome the national average of some issues such as an 11% smoking rate versus a national average of 20%, life expectancy of 82.2 years versus the National Median of 77.5 years, and even population without Health Insurance at a rate of 8.9% versus the National Rate of 11%. Despite these more standout points that is seen for San Diego County’s overall score, looking into the core details of what gave the score we see that some categories are lower compared to others which leads to the lowering of a potential higher score that this County can receive.

Looking into some of the lower scored categories can help improve well being of San Diegans and improve policy making in regards to healthcare issues.

Ranking of Categories

This is broken down into 5 separate and general categories (as well as other background details), each category has different subjects/metrics that compose the general category it is listed under. The metrics scored together produce the final score of the category it is under. While we wish to always improve on all accounts of health, we should look into the first 2 categories as they have the lowest ranked scores.

This is a chart of the Metrics for the Access to Care category that measures the level on a County, State, and National level as well as Peer Group.[1]
  • Access To Care [Score: 55/100]:  Defined as the ability to have access and obtain healthcare services such as diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and management of diseases, illness, disorders, and other health issues. The key point that truly defines accessibility of healthcare, is to be affordable and convenient. It is known that many people don’t have access to decent healthcare.[3] The Metrics used for this category are Hospital Bed Availability, Population With No Health Insurance, and Primary Care Doctor Availability.
This is a chart of the Metrics for the Health Behavior category that measures the level on a County, State, and National level as well as Peer Group.[1]
  • Health Behaviors [Score: 64/100]: Defined as actions people take that affect their health directly or indirectly. This includes actions that lead to improved health, such as healthy eating and physically active habits. This also includes actions that increase a person’s risk of disease, such as smoking, excessive drinking, and risky sexual behavior.[4] The listed metrics that measure this category are Adult Flu Vaccination Rate, Adults With No Leisure-Time Physical Activity, Adults With Recent Preventive Care Visit, and Smoking Rate.
  • Health Conditions [Score: 77/100]: This is defined as the illnesses, injuries and impairments that affect our ability to function and live life. These may be related to but not limited to food/nutrition from food allergies and intolerances, dental and gut health, and non-communicable diseases (diabetes, cancers, etc.)[5] The Metrics used for this category are Cancer Incident Rate, Heart Disease Prevalence, and Preventable Hospital Admissions Among Medicare Beneficiaries.
  • Health Outcomes [Score: 79/100]: This is defined as events occurring as a result of health related intervention. This may vary and measured clinically (physical examination, imaging, laboratory testing such as blood sample tests), self-reported, or even observed (such as gait or movement fluctuations seen by a healthcare provider or caregiver).[6] The Metrics used for this category are Adults in Poor or Fair General Health, Babies Born With Low Birth Weight, Life Expectancy, and Teen Birth Rate.
  • Mental Health [Score: 79/100]: This is defined as emotional, psychological, and social well-being. This affects how one will think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, connect with other, and make overall healthy choices. This is something that can affect an individual at any point of their life from infancy to adolescence to adulthood.[7] The Metrics used to measure this category are Adults With Frequent Mental Distress, Deaths Through Despair, and Depression Among Medicare Beneficiaries (Facilities that perform services for those with Mental Health disorders).

Healthcare Districts

A Healthcare District are special districts developed to create and operate hospitals and health care facilities/services for all types of communities. Healthcare Districts are local forms of government, directly accountable to their communities. This close connection to their voters and community ensures openness and transparency. Residents not only vote to create Healthcare Districts, they also elect the public boards that oversee the spending of their local tax dollars in pursuit of improved community health.[8] Typically these districts are governed by a locally elected five-member board of directors, California currently has over 75 healthcare districts throughout the state. Within San Diego County there are 4 different healthcare districts:

  • Tri-City Healthcare District: North San Diego County, in the coastal community of Oceanside.[9]
  • Palomar Health District: Two locations, Poway Valley and Escondido.[10]
  • Grossmont Healthcare District: Boundaries are from La Mesa to the mountains and from the border to Santee.[11]
  • Fallbrook Regional Health District: Located in Fallbrook the district serves residents of the Bonsall, Rainbow and De Luz areas of northern San Diego County.[12]

Contemporary Political Issues

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/california/san-diego-county
  2. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447747/#:~:text=These%20determinants%20include%20medical%20care,%2C%20genetics%2C%20and%20individual%20behavior.
  3. ↑ https://medicine.missouri.edu/centers-institutes-labs/health-ethics/faq/health-care-access#:~:text=Health%20care%20access%20is%20the,have%20access%20to%20adequate%20healthcare.
  4. ↑ https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/explore-health-rankings/county-health-rankings-model/health-factors/health-behaviors#:~:text=Health%20behaviors%20are%20actions%20individuals,intake%2C%20and%20risky%20sexual%20behavior.
  5. ↑ https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/major-themes/health-and-well-being#:~:text=The%20WHO%20constitution%20states%3A%20%22Health,of%20mental%20disorders%20or%20disabilities.
  6. ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/health-outcomes#:~:text=Health%20outcomes%20are%20defined%20as,a%20healthcare%20provider%20or%20caregiver).
  7. ↑ https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm#:~:text=What%20is%20mental%20health%3F,1
  8. ↑ https://www.achd.org/achd-message
  9. ↑ https://www.tricitymed.org/
  10. ↑ https://www.palomarhealth.org/
  11. ↑ https://www.grossmonthealthcare.org/
  12. ↑ https://www.fallbrookhealth.org/
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