Story Created:
Jun 25, 2009 at 12:43 PM PST
Story Updated:
Jun 28, 2009 at 8:52 PM PST
The poorest residents of Los Angeles County have the highest rate of disease, injury and death, according to a new report.
“Again and again we see that unhealthy living conditions place the most vulnerable segments of our population even more at risk,” said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the county’s director of public health.
In the county-issued report, the county is divided into eight service planning areas for health care planning purposes.
The south planning area covers much of South Los Angeles, including parts of Exposition Park, Adams, Jefferson Park, Willowbrook, Compton, Crenshaw, Lynwood, Paramount and nearby communities.
That area has the highest rate of poverty in the county together with the highest rate of obesity, the lowest high school graduation rate and the least access to healthy foods, according to the report.
Teens and young adults in the region are also nearly three times as likely to be murdered than those in other areas of the county.
“These findings highlight the stark health disparities seen in the county, and the need to not only increase access to medical and social services in underserved communities, but also to work across both public and private sectors to improve the physical, social, and economic environments in which we live,” Fielding said.
Countywide, the high school graduation rate was 58.1 percent, with the south service planning area at 35.1 percent and the metro service planning area at 44.2 percent.
The metro area includes parts of downtown, Boyle Heights, Mid-City, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Silver Lake, Echo Park, Mount Washington, Monterey Hills and nearby communities.
“Level of education is one of the most powerful predictors of future health,” Fielding said. “Increasing the high school graduation rate represents one of the most important and under-appreciated strategies for improving the health of our population, as well as reducing health care costs and increasing economic productivity.”
The study also found that many young children lack the preparation to succeed in school. Only 50.3 percent of county children less than 5 years old were read to daily by a parent or family member, while two-thirds of children less than 2 years old watched television every day.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that children that young should not watch television at all.
“From the day they are born, children's lives are altered when, instead of daily TV, they have access to books, reading and other literacy activities,” said Evelyn Martinez, executive director of First 5 LA, a child advocacy and grant-making organization.
“Facilitating early literacy skills in preschool-aged children is a critical foundation for higher education, good jobs, lower crime rates, and later health,” Martinez said. “It is a precious inheritance for future generations. And it’s achievable.”
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