The overall health status of Collin County residents has been named the best of all Texas counties, according to a new report from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Collin County is ranked first in health factors, which are what influences the health of a county, and ranked second in health outcomes, which represent the current health of a county.

The Population Health Institute’s report ranks all the counties within a state according to a number of factors affecting health outcomes (length of life and quality of life) and health factors (health behaviors, access to and quality of healthcare, social and economic factors, environment, and programs and policies). Under health outcomes:

• Collin County ranked first in mortality, which is based on the length of life as a measure of premature death, or the years of potential life lost prior to age 75

Under health factors:

• Collin County ranked first in health behaviors, which includes measures of smoking, diet, exercise, and alcohol use

• The county also ranked first in social and economic factors, which measures education, employment, income, family and social support, and community safety

• Collin County ranked third in clinical care, which measures access to care and the quality of care.

Texas is made up of 254 counties, 221 of which were included in this study. Due to data coverage limitations, not all Texas counties were included in the analysis.

The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute’s County Health Rankings report, underwritten by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is the first time counties across the country can get a picture of their residents’ health as a comparison to other counties within their state. For more information about the institute and this project, visit www.countyhealthrankings.org. This article also appears at www.collincountytx.gov.

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