School of Public Health is academic partner for America’s Health Rankings
| December 07, 2006 | |
The UNC School of Public Health is the academic partner to the annual review, “America’s Health Rankings: A Call to Action for People and Their Communities,” released this week by United Health Foundation. The 2006 review revealed that while American’s overall health improved slightly from last year, the rate of improvement has leveled off since 2000.
Photograph of Dr. Thomas Ricketts III
Thomas Ricketts III, PhD, School of Public Health professor of Health Policy and Administration, is chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the annual rankings. Dr. Ricketts also is Director of the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program. “Our committee is working to develop a framework so we can all better understand what factors have led to improvements in national health status since 1990,” said Ricketts, who has been involved in the annual review since 2001. “The Rankings have been widely recognized as a reliable indicator of the health status of the nation and the states. Several states have created similar ranking systems for their counties and use the national ranks as benchmarks for the performance of their public health efforts.” For the first time, the report incorporates state-specific analysis of the quality of medical care delivery versus costs as part of a comprehensive picture of overall health. The data show an inverse relationship between cost and quality. In addition to the Carolina School of Public Health, United Health Foundation also partners with the American Public Health Association and the Partnership for Prevention. The 2006 report can be found at www.unitedhealthfoundation.org. # # # Dr. Ricketts may be reached by telephone at 919-966-5541 or by email at tom_ricketts@unc.edu. For more information, contact Ramona DuBose, director of communications for the UNC School of Public Health, by telephone at 919-966-7467 or by email at ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
|
