Report shows some progress, some setbacks in county health – Greenville Daily Reflector

Pitt County has shown improvement in its battles against diabetes, infant mortality, HIV and heart disease, but has lost ground against cancer, prescription drug abuse and syphilis, according to the 2016 State of the County Health Report presented Tuesday to the county Board of Health.

Amy Hattem, the departments health education director, introduced the report and explained how it was compiled.

In 2015, thePitt County Health Department and Vidant MedicalCenter partnered to complete a requiredCommunity Health NeedsAssessment (CHNA) toexamine the health status ofthe community and to determine the countys health improvement prioritiesover the followingthree to four years.

Priorities chosen included access to care, chronic disease prevention; physical activity and nutrition; maternal and child health/infant mortality prevention; tobacco prevention and control; and sexually transmitted diseases.

The State of the CountyHealth Report is comprisedannually tohighlight activities that address the selected healthpriorities. The latest report wascompleted in March and reflects activities thatwere implemented in late2015 through 2016. It contains the most recent data on leading causes of death and contains updates on activities implemented to achieve the communitys top health goals.

In 2016, the leading cause of death in Pitt County for the second consecutive year was cancer, followed by heart disease, stroke, chronic respiratory disease; unintentional injuries, Alzheimers disease, diabetes, septicemia (blood infection), motor vehicle injuries, and chronic liver disease/cirrhosis.

Cancer rates in Pitt County climbed from 134.3 per 100,000 population in 2013 to 154.5 per 100,000 in 2014 and to 164.4 per 100,000 in2015, according to the data. Lung cancer lags behind breast cancer in the number of projected cases, but exceeds breast cancer in the number of projected deaths, Hattem said. Prostate cancer and colorectal cancer are the other leading types of cancer showing up in the county.

We hope weve made progress regarding diabetes, Hattem said.In 2013, the disease was ranked as the fifth leading cause of death, but dropped to seventh in 2014 and 2015. We hope that drop can be linked to programs we have in place, like the diabetes self-management program and other prevention programs weve had in place in the community since that time.

The rise in unintentional deaths the last two years could be connected to the increase in prescription drug abuse and misuse, Hattem said.

The report indicated that the health department and its numerous community partners have implemented many programs linking individuals with community health resources. Representatives of those partnerships reported on issues addressed in 2016.

Jennifer Hardee, the health departments coordinator of womens and childrens health education programs, said the countys goal is to continue reducing its infant mortality rate, currently 9.7 per 1,000 births in 2015, to the North Carolina rate of 7.2 per 1,000 births or lower, with emphasis placed on the countys low-income African-American women. Progress was made last year primarily because the mortality rate dropped among African-American women while it rose among white women, Hardee said.

Allyson Smith, the health departments tobacco prevention and control coordinator, reported on the countys efforts to reduce secondhand smoke in multi-unit housing by 10 percent annually and reduce smoking in community parks by the same amount.

In the area of sexually transmitted diseases, the county set a goal in 2016 to reduce the rising rate of Chlamydia. The rate climbed from918.3 per 100,000 populationto 968.5 per 100,000 representing a 4.23-percent increase. The increase incases could be due to an increase in the number of testsperformed, according to Kimberly Hardy, the health departments director of Nursing and Personal Health.

While HIV cases have trended downward in Pitt County the last two years, from 38 to 23, the numbers of cases of syphilis have steadily increased, from 22 in 2013 to 51 in 2015 and 2016.

Rates this high are very concerning for our community, Hardy said. Our needs for prevention and training are certainly confirmed by those numbers.

Robin Tant, the health department nutrition director and vice chairwoman of Pitt Partners for Health, reported on the partnerships Chronic Disease Committees West Greenville Health Initiative, designed to reduce chronic diseases and improve overall health in the area of the county where it is most challenged.

The initiative allowed the leaders in west Greenville to become deeply engaged in its design and implementation and allowed an opportunity to repair issues of trust they said had been weakened by other factors, including the lack of resources, presence of illegal drugs, unemployment, racism and profiling, and elderly isolation.

At the countywide level, Mary Tayloe Gaskins, a nutritionist and chairwoman of the Pitt Partners for Health Physical Activity and Nutrition Action Team, reported on initiatives aimed at health issues impacted by nutrition and physical activity.

The possibilities for improvement in conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, hypertension and obesity are endless, Gaskins said.

The team hosted 12 Cooking Matters grocery store tours this year through a Vidant Health Foundation grant to teach healthier eating on a budget.

Who hasnt heard, It costs too much to eat healthy? We think it costs too much not to eat healthy, Gaskins said.

The nutrition team showed tour participants how to prepare a healthy family meal for as little as $10, she said.

The Pitt County Health Department will begin next year to collect new data for the next Community Health Needs Assessment, due in 2019.

For a copy of the 2016 SOTCH Report, email Amy Hattem at amy.hattem@pittcountync.govor visit the Pitt County Health Department website atwww.pittcountync.gov/368/Health-Statistics.

Contact Michael Abramowitz at mabramowitz@reflector.comor 252-329-9507.

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Report shows some progress, some setbacks in county health - Greenville Daily Reflector