The U.S. has skilled comparatively gentle hurricane seasons lately, and this pattern could proceed in 2017 in line with some fashions. Hurricane season reminds us of simply one of many many kinds of occasions that may threaten the well being standing of enormous teams of individuals within the U.S. every year. These occasions – together with storms, fires, floods, infectious illness outbreaks, and infrastructure failures – are unsure as to their precise location, timing, geographic scale, and depth. Because of this, well being safety consultants suggest that every one states and communities preserve a broad spectrum of well being protections that assist to maintain folks protected and wholesome no matter the kind of hazard which will happen. Sadly, the newest outcomes from a nationwide index of well being safety signifies that these protections are removed from equal in energy throughout the U.S.
The Nationwide Well being Safety Preparedness Index makes use of huge information and analytics to summarize the energy of well being safety protections throughout the U.S. and to trace adjustments over time. The most recent outcomes present developments for the interval 2013 by way of 2016 for each U.S. state and the nation as a complete. The comforting information is that well being safety has trended upward steadily for the nation as a complete. The troubling information is that some folks get pleasure from a lot stronger protections than others primarily based solely on the place they stay. For instance, the Index exhibits that residents of the Deep South expertise well being safety ranges that fall considerably under the nationwide common, regardless of their historical past of publicity to hurricanes and different damaging storms. Throughout the U.S., states with larger poverty ranges, bigger rural populations, and decrease charges of medical health insurance protection are likely to fall under the nationwide common on measures of well being safety.
The Index was created by the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, and is now supported by the Robert Wooden Johnson Basis. Final week we shared insights from the most recent Index outcomes on the Preparedness Summit 2017 in Atlanta, one of many largest convenings of well being safety stakeholders within the U.S.
Whether or not or not you reside in a area weak to hurricanes, you’ve got many causes to care about well being and social methods and their potential to guard folks when hazardous occasions happen. Because of this, you’ll want to go to the Index web site and discover its information and measures. And you’ll be part of the well being safety Innovator Problem by devising a novel manner to make use of the Index in stimulating actions that strengthen well being safety.
