Health Disparities In Harris County

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I live in the county of Harris, Texas. I have resided in this area ever since I was three years old. I have always been aware of the hectic lifestyle that I grew up around in the area. It seemed that numerous bike trails, hospitals, clinics, gyms, and healthy food chains were near each other at every passing block. In the local news article, “Demographic Profile for Harris County, Texas” it states, Harris County “encompasses 1,777 square miles of sprawling urban and suburban landscape. Sixty-five percent of the land area lies within unincorporated areas where 1.8 million people reside…within these geographic boundaries, Harris County is made up of diverse communities, each with a unique sociodemographic and cultural fabric” (Harris County Public …show more content…
There percentages were the highest out of all to health disparities. Some of the health behaviors that contribute to the health disparities are bad eating habits, not exercising, and simply bad influences. The racial demographic of Harris County in the 2016 census bureau states that “42. 4 percent are Hispanic decent, 70.0% are Anglo-Saxon, 19.7% are African American, 1.1% are of American Indian or Alaska Native decent, and 7.2% are Asian” (Harris County Profile). In the entire population of Harris County 25% of children live in poverty, 87% graduated from high school and 58% went to college (County Health Rankings and Roadmaps). Harris County becomes more diversified every year and because of that foods from other cultures start to emerge. Although, the different foods may be delicious some dishes may be unhealthier than others. With that said, certain strategies in my opinion to help improve the health in Harris County would be to implement health programs that target certain cultures, healthy cooking classes provided by the county or government, lower prices on nutritious meals, and free equipment for the youth and seniors to help them stay in shape or lose …show more content…
Houston in itself is very culturally diverse. It’s known that everything is bigger in Texas, but Houston takes the cake. It is seen that the health statistics and percentages are slightly different from my county, but not far off. I found some very interesting percentages about Houston’s overall health with the help of the health program, “Houston State of Health”. In the city of Houston, good health is increasing due to the amount of clinics and technology available to help the citizens with various health disparities. It is seen that “70.4% of adults have health insurance and 89.0% of children also have health insurance” (Houston State of Health). This is important because Houston is a growing city and compared to 500 other cities, we’re at the top of servicing health insurance to its citizens. Although, I do believe healthcare should be free for everyone. Despite that, the city of Houston is doing fairly well for health insurance. A lot of jobs today have free healthcare benefits for yourself and families. The major health needs are screenings for colon cancer with a high 55.7%, adults that suffer from diabetes that have a percentage of 11.8, 27.3% are obese, and adults who are sedentary have a high 28.9% (Houston State of Health). It is important to maintain a healthier lifestyle because every single health disparity can be easily prevented with proper help and guidance. Due to health disparities people are affected financially and