Public Health in Oregon - Join The Conversation

I think these are applicable in assisting in the improvement of the overall health in the various counties around Oregon. It is always good to see a large variety, and large amount of data to know what needs improvement, as well seeing the strengths and weaknesses, and also to see what is effective.

This is useful tool that allows for comparisons between counties and they should also look at factors that lead to higher rankings. That is, they should analyze counties that are ranked higher and use that info for the benefit of low-ranking counties.

I think that comparing counties can be useful in some ways and a little misleading in other ways.  Every county is located in a different geographic distribution and may have different issues.  While it may be helpful and interesting to compare, each county should work and focus on its individual problems as well.

I think comparing the counties health ratings is a good idea because it shows you what parts of the state needs to improve and what needs to be done in comparison to the other counties.  I also believe that they could take the ratings one step further and compare them to other counties in other states.

I think that this comparing system will help produce healthier counties in the future because it will show us what is working and what isn’t working.  Whether something is going well or not, other counties will be able to learn from these experiences and adapt to make a healthier community in these counties.  Competition between counties is never a bad thing in dealing with health because we all strive to be the best, so why not have the best health care.

I think comparing counties can be a useful tool to improving health. We can see what healthier counties are spending their money on health-wise, and we can see what is working and what is not. Of course, we should also look at who makes up the majority of the population of that county as well. Socio-economic status, age, race, education, etc. are all important factors in health as well. If a county has a better educated, weathier population with more funding than it isn’t suprising that they are healthier. Factors effecting equality I think are very important in health.

The comparison of counties is going to show to be very effective in the long run, because already people can see other counties acting on getting healthier. I grew up in South Tillamook County, and we have a really poor status when it comes to public funding. There are barely any bike lanes, our health department is in a small, cramped house that used to be an apartment building, and our community gets most of its wears and tears from the tourist population (being Pacific City and Sandlake).  I hope to see this affect my county as well, not just Benton, Yamhill, and Jefferson counties.

I think that this comparing system will help produce healthier counties in the future. By comparing counties ratings they can see where allocation of funds are most needed, as well as determine which systems need restructuring. With Jefferson County it appears they may need to make some systematic changes and could look towards higher rating counties like Benton County as an example.

I believe that this is a good comparison to make because it pushes everyone to be the best even if it’s not compared to other states. It will help make some improvement to each counties health. Jefferson county now knows that it needs to make a change therefore it will start taking steps to develop a better system. Benton County should keep doing the same things it is doing now and maybe since it’s a college town full of healthy young adults it can focus on older adults or the elderly. If that is not one of the factors then just think of ways to increase the number of healthy people and stay at number one. I think that these numbers are meaningful because it shows how the rest of Oregon is doing and possibly help identify some of the underlying causes. In turn helping the overall health of Oregon residents.

I think that county comparisons are useful for opening up a conversation about health determinants and outcomes, but needs to be investigated more deeply.  Perhaps comparing areas with the same average socioeconomic class and areas of another class could tell you what kind of access is working and what is not.  Maybe it should be expected that certain counties are healthier than other. Benton county has a large young adult population.  Across the lifespan, young adults are at their peak physically and are not as susceptible to infections or chronic disease as other age cohorts. The comparison could be used to confirm expectations about certain populations and resources but should not be read on such a superficial level.

I think it is valuable to see how counties rank against each other in order to get a sense of what is working, what is not and where money should be going.  Benton County very likely has some of the best health factors and behaviors because of the high level of education among the population. Benton county also promotes physical activity by providing bike lanes, jogging paths, and lots of clean public parks.  Hopefully, other counties will see that investing in education and public recreation areas increases the overall wellbeing of a community.  I also think it is extremely important to compare county health outcomes against national and international data.  We can learn a lot from what other States and countries are doing.

I think it is helpful to see how the counties compare to each other but I think we also need other data to see how we are doing as a state. Since Jefferson county was rated the lowest the people there will probably be more aware of this and hopefully the community can come together and make changes as a whole. Because Benton county has been rated the highest I think the people there should get out and help out other counties. They can share their ideas and strategies and we can all unite to become healthier.

This ranking technique will trigger competition among the counties if the funding goes to the right place. If the state utilize more of their financial resources in the counties with the highest ranking of health, then the lower ones will want to increase their health status in order to receive more funding. By funding the counties that have potentially the best systems, we can create a standard for the rest of the counties to follow. Setting the bar is what I am trying to get at here.

Having these rankings for the counties throughout Oregon, gives a means for motivation in regards to the counties that may have ranked in the lower percentile.  If anything, this shows that Benton County has made tremendous achievements being now considered the healthiest county in Oregon.  Many factors attribute to this, for instance, being such a biker friendly county, having numerous farmers markets and co-ops, as well as having access to organic produce.  From these rankings, perhaps Jefferson County can shadow what Benton County has succeeded.

I think these rankings will assist in improving the overall health in various counties. I think that it is always effective to use comparative methods when aiming to improve something. It is important to know where your county stands on the health spectrum, but to also keep in mind that just because your county ranks low doesn’t mean they, personally, many not be living a healthy life or just because they a person lives in one of the healthier counties may not mean they are practicing healthy living habits.

Since Oregon gives it’s counties health authority I think this ranking system can be very useful. It will give some of the low ranked counties ideas on how to improve their health standing and it will give the high ranked counties motivation to keep their public health policies the way they are.

By comparing counties in Oregon i think that people can see how others are becoming healthier and people can learn from each other. Yes, Jefferson counties may rank the lowest and Benton county ranking high, but by looking at each others health rankings things can change. It will take time, but at the end it will all turn out great.

I think comparing is a great tool. I grew up in Klamath County, one of the unhealthiest counties in Oregon, and now i live in Benton County, the healthiest county in Oregon. I can tell you that the differences between the two counties are phenomenal! Klamath county does not have as much funding, and therefore their health status suffers. They do not have very many bike lanes or crosswalks, or spend as much money on parks. There is only one very small natural food store that many people do not even know about. In Benton county there is a total different atmosphere. There are bike lanes everywhere, and you must stop for pedestrians. There are tons of natural food co-op options here in Corvallis, and easy access to many parks and trails. There is a higher tax bracket here, so I definitely think that has a lot to do with the access to such healthy choices and lifestyles. I must say that I LOVE living in Benton County!

I think it is a great tool to compare counties in the same state to each other, but it shouldn’t be the only thing looked at when deciding how our state is doing as a whole.  We also need to look at how we compare to other states in the areas of health being examined.

I am not from Oregon originally so I really don’t know about the specific counties but i do think that comparing is a great tool. But with keeping in mind the demographics of the counties. You wouldn’t be able to compare Washington county with a county in the far east part of the state. Rural areas definitely need to be serviced because the tax base is so much smaller.

It is very disadvantageous the way public health in Oregon is organized. Having each county have its own authority is not the greatest way to represent public health, because (as the article states) counties only compare ratings among each other, rather than among whether or not their ratings are efficient. For some part, though, it may be good to compare each county because it makes them more competitive, but there is no strong rating that tells each county how they rank among other counties in other states.

I think that now that Benton County as been ranked at the top of the list for health factors and behaviors other counties like Jefferson County can start to model programs after it.  Maybe Benton County can see how they rank in a larger population of counties by including parts of Washington and California to see if we are really doing the best we can.

I think that having these rankings will improve the health of each county and help them focus on their individual needs. The system will help the overall population too ans we can evaluate the health of the state. We can also use this to find out why certain parts are not as “healthy” as some of the others.

Comparing measurements is always a good idea. You can easily gain knowledge of what others are doing if they are exceeding in area that you aren’t.

It’s always good to see where your county stands as far as health. However, one can not assume that just because they live in the healthiest county that they are healthy. Similarly to one living in the lowest ranking county be stereotyped as being unhealthy. I think that we can all learn from each other, and it was interesting to see the distribution among the counties.

I think comparing does not show us exactly what we need to know. We need to know if those numbers are good or bad. It is good to be able to see where we stand comparatively, but this could be misleading to states where their number are lower than average. These states may think that means they are at good standing, but we are not sure of that.

I think comparing counties health rankings is an effective way for people to see what other counties are doing and whether or not it is beneficial. counties can thus learn and improve based on each other.

Our whole state should be aware the health factors that contribute to our lifestyles should be a reason to promote or show how other counties in our state can have a healthy outcomes. By promoting healthy choices different counties are able to show that are ways to change health beaviors in our state if we just look for referneces or resources to help with changing health outcomes. I believe that comparing counties in our state will help persaue other counties that have low health outcomes to encourage healthier behaviors in thier towns.

When it comes the health status of a country I think ranking and comparing is a good idea. It creates motivation for a country to be ranked so they can improve.If a country has a better health system, it’s a good way to learn what could be done differently, and what things aren’t as effective.

I think that the rankings has a good idea behind it, I just don’t know how effective it will be.  I guess if the counties wanted to be in a competition w/ e/o this might spark some enthusiasm for change, but for those individuals living in a community ranked low who just don’t care, its not really proving much.  Instead of ranking counties against e/o I would like to see more efforts being geared towards making the whole state a healthier living place, rather than just certain sectors.

I think this comparison between the counties is beneficial to those that ranked lower in certain categories because they can look to the other counties as to what they are doing different and how they went about making change. It also benefits the counties that ranked the highest because this is a way for them to see if the changes they have made are actually making a difference or not, as well as the encouragement to keep up healthy infrastructures for they know other counties may be looking to them for advise.
The geographic location, population differences, and the counties resources should be considered in these comparisons however.

I think rankings are a great idea. Not only does this breed a little ‘healthy’ competition (pardon the ‘ill’ placed pun )amongst counties but it also identifies the counties that are doing well. Counties with poorer rankings can look to others and learn from specific policy, infrastructure and legislation that works well and use it as a model or learn from it.

These rankings mean nothing, Benton being the healthiest compared to other Oregon counties, is about at valuable as saying that a valid Victorian from a school of 30 kids is an achievement. They don’t need to be ranked against each other because that doesn’t strive towards perfection.  These counties should be given goals geared towards the citizens as well as the community. Public health is never ending and putting placings on counties is a poor reflection of the overall idea of public health and its goal.

To address the Benton county question, since thats where i currently reside. This city consists of mostly college students and university employees. I would argue that the general higher intelligence and higher socioeconomic status has lead to better lifestyle choices. I don’t think you can take that ranking and say the infrastructure should be a leading example because its also the demographic that makes it so. I think these ratings are important to have and maintain but someone is also going to come in last, so maybe instead of ranking they should create a grading system.

This is a good idea so that we can determine where certain parts of the state are at compared to others. This could also encourage certain counties to strive to be better than other counties and would lead to an overall healthier population.

Comparison measurement can be a great tool to see how different systems are working in different counties. If a system is working well, then the achievements will show when it’s compared to other counties that aren’t using the system. Other counties can then improve by making similar changes. However if all the counties need improvement, it may not be evident by simply comparing them to each other; another form of ranking may be appropriate for overall state improvement.

I think it does help with trying to find out which areas are in need the most, but I feel as a nation all areas are lacking.

I think comparing health care rankings with other countries is very beneficial. It displays who is ahead and behind and what each community is gaining or lacking within the health system. This system will help those who are ranked lower, because it will show them what they can improve on based on what other communities have implemented into their system.

Yes i think these rankings can be helpful and are very interesting. Using this comparison tactic we can see what one county is doing in a certain aspect and how they measure up to other counties. I think this ranking system will help the communities that ranked low because they now know what communities are doing good and can potentially ask them for tips. This program can help all counties be more accountable for the things they are doing. I also think that this could help make sure that each county is improving and that there isn’t just one that is falling behind. This could get all the counties on the same level.

I think its a really good idea to compare other countries with each other so that we can learn what others are doing and if it is working or not. One way you learn best is by looking at others. Benton county has been doing a good job and should keep doing things the same way. They could also look at other places that are doing just as well and see if they are doing anything different. Maybe they can experiment a little and see if that works even better for them.

I think it is be good to compare counties because we can learn what is working for that place and how we can maybe incorporate it in our own community.  Public health would benefit from seeing these ranks and how other places spend their time doing physical activities.  This then can lead to other places seeing what they need to change and help people make better choices.  Also, by comparing counties, this can lead to standards being set high and making people want to do better.

I think comparing places would be beneficial it helps you see things in another perspective and compare and contrast the positives and negatives. Health rankings for the most part can be pretty beneficial it helps give you an idea on what people /communities are doing well and doing wrong.  Jefferson would be beneficial to look at places around them to see what they’re doing to try and improve them.

I believe that compairing counties shows how others who fall to the bottom can improve on their public health infastructure. Well one thing Jefferson county can do is have the county commissoner work more with the public health people to see what they can do together to improve their overall quality of life for everyone. Put up some sort of system to show people they aren’t healthy and that needs to change before they get worse. Start programs that give people the opportunity to learn and educate themseleves to a better life. Benton County has an 88% in diabetic screening, which is AMAZING! Being able to help people stop their diabetes from getting worse later on in life. Also they have alot of healthy food access where people can shop to keep the years building to their lives.

These health rankings are meaningful because they allow for discussion on ways to improve public health infrastructure, regardless of the fact that the numbers may only be comparisons between counties. If the standards used to rank the counties were adequate, then it definitely notes the importance of these rankings.  Benton county should continue the good work that it has done, but there is always room for improvement. As for Jefferson county, a reevaluation of the public health system would be useful.

Comparing counties may be a risky business. Hopefully they took into consideration the population types that live in each county. Surely, there is a higher population of elderly in some counties than in others, which may drastically change these “health rankings”. There may be other such differences in populations that affect the reason that the rankings are what they are. These differences definitely need to be considered.

It is important to be able to compare counties within Oregon, but I feel that a better management of time would have been to compare counties in Oregon with those in other States. I guess that it is frustrating to see that Benton County has a good ranking when there is still so much that needs to be done in the way of keeping citizens healthy here.

I find this is be a great idea. Everyone loves competition, each county ill be trying to get the highest ranking, which will in turn result in meeting all the needs of the people. Visually seeing each counties rate will always prove room for improvement, which means that the upkeep will always be done. This will be quite beneficial.

I think it is beneficial to have rankings for the counties. It will motivate our system to do better and that will improve the public health system in our area. I think anything that shows the strengths and weakness of an area is beneficial because all we can do from this point on is improve.

I believe that it is good to have these rankings but one must think “how is this compared to the rest of the nation and the world?” We might be one of the least healthiest areas. I believe oregon is an average healthy state and there is always room to improve.

Ranking counties seems like an excellent idea in my perspective. Not only will counties be trying to get the highest ranking, but it also means that they’ll all try to meet the best needs of the people. Doing so will give counties an idea of their rate and what they can do to get a better ranking as a comparison to other rankings. I’m sure it’ll benefit individuals as well as the counties officials themselves.