`Survey: Local populace isn't healthy`

The survey's results
The following are some of the results of the 1,600 people who responded to a community health assessment conducted by the Sharon Regional Health System. The available 1995 results are in parenthesis.

21.8 percent (25.7 percent) of adults were tested for heart problems.
37.8 percent (42.6 percent) were tested for lung problems.
44.8 percent (55.7 percent) of women between 40 to 49 years old had an annual mammogram; but 63 percent (55.7 percent) of women over the age of 50 had a mammogram.
Only 27.2 percent of people without dental insurance saw a dentist every six months.
16.3 percent (13.5 percent) people suffered from depression; 74.5 percent (56.9 percent) were treated with medication for depression and 72 percent (62.3 percent) by their primary care physician.
70.7 percent exercise compared with the national average of 75.8 percent.
23.6 percent (19.7 percent) are overweight or severely overweight. The national average is 17.7 percent.
71.6 percent (64.6 percent) limit the fat intakes in their diet.
19.5 percent (18.9 percent) smoke. 43.6 percent of people ages 18 to 49 with household incomes under $25,000 smoke. 76.2 percent began smoking before the age of 20. The national average is 74.3 percent.

By Jennifer Hall
Herald Staff Writer

Healthy is not something the Shenango Valley is, according to a community health assessment conducted by Sharon Regional Health System.

"The numbers show that the people are less healthy in general," said Paul Umbach of Tripp, Umbach & Assoc., the Pittsburgh firm that conducted the assessment. "Some portions of the community have become more healthy, but overall since 1995, people are not.ÕÕ

The results follow up on the findings of a 1995 study. While the focus in the 1995 survey seemed to point toward youth activities, safety, substance abuse and education, the new results put the spotlight on preventative care, tobacco use, mental health and diet.

"The four new areas are much more specific and allow the results to be more focused," Umbach said.

"The survey did show us that for other issues such as services the area is more healthy because of the availability," he said.

"But itÕs the personal responsibility for health that is lower Ñ which is the standard across Pennsylvania."

In both studies, 10,000 surveys were distributed to the primary service area of the hospital system including parts of Trumbull County, Ohio. The results are being reviewed by a steering committee that will work on remedying some of the problem areas.

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Updated Aug 6, 1998
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