Parks help boost Clark County in health rankings, report says

Health indicators in Clark County show the community is performing slightly better than the average Nevada county in population health and well-being factors, according to a nationwide report released Wednesday.

The findings, published by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, also show that the county performed slightly below average in community conditions, including social and economic factors, the physical environment and health infrastructure.

Those results were determined through a comprehensive look at multiple factors and indexes to compare the county to others in the state and across the nation. Community conditions included flu vaccination rates, food environments, ratios of care providers to residents, and more.

The county’s strengths include access to exercise opportunities. According to the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps report, 96 percent of county residents live near a park or recreational facility, compared to 91 percent statewide and 84 percent nationally. Clark County also has lower than the national and statewide average of injury deaths and a declining rate of children in poverty.

But community conditions were where there were more areas of concern, according to the report. Social and economic factors — also known as the social determinants of health — continue to be the primary drivers of health outcomes in Clark County, much like other communities.

John Packham, the director of health policy research at University of Nevada, Reno, said the County Health Ranking and Roadmaps report emphasizes how much of public health is influenced by factors outside of a clinical setting.

“It matters where we live, where we learn, how we work, what type of work we do, and so forth,” Packham said Wednesday during a presentation by the Southern Nevada Health District.

Areas for improvement include flu vaccination rates, health experts said. Among Clark County Medicare enrollees, 36 percent received an annual flu vaccine, compared to 48 percent nationally. The rate of uninsured individuals — 14 percent — is also higher than the national rate of 10 percent. A steadily high unemployment rate of 5.4 percent is also an area of public health improvement, according to health officials.

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.