In light of the Dow's recent -- yet admitttedly tenuous -- rebound, I thought I'd take a break from the all the bad news and riff on something, well, at least interesting.
Seems Gallup, Healthways and America's Health Insurance Plans got together to publish what has got to be one of the most sweeping, exhaustive studies of American health. Not only does this ongoing study examine all 50 states, and 435 congressional districts, but it actually "draws its data from 1,000 surveys per day, seven days per week to measure how Americans are faring physically, emotionally, socially and economically at any given point in time. [This] is the largest effort ever undertaken to measure America's comprehensive well-being, encompassing more than 423,000 interviews since its January 2008 launch."
As a journalist, and sometime research junkie, I can't get over just how cool this sounds. But it's also a killer example of private industry pulling off something it would take the federal government twice as long to do while costing three times as much. Instead of combing through actual results, we'd be reading about one tale or another of mismanagement or waste.
Instead, we get some real highlights, such as Utah, Hawaii, Wyoming, Colorado and Minnesota apparently top the state rankings. (Colorado? I must be in the wrong ZIP code. Or maybe I should just hit the gym more often.)
Aside from simple health care availability and coverage questions, this index looks into respondents' economic, professional, emotional and social circumstances. So it's actually possible to "quantify and establish a correlation between the places where people work and the communities in which they live and their well-being," according to the press release.
What does all this really mean?
"These data are a national wake-up call to re-orient our system toward preventive care, wellness and chronic care management," AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni explained. "As members of Congress focus on health care reform, these data will serve as an important resource to gauge the true health and well-being of their constituents. This project will shine a light on often overlooked issues affecting the American people, including disparities in access to care and barriers to healthy lifestyles."
Now if only we could get Congress to listen.
