General Health
Santa Clara County ranks 3rd out of all California counties in the County Health Rankings for Health Outcomes.1 In Santa Clara County, 87% of all adults have health insurance (2). However, only 70% of Hispanic/Latinos have health insurance compared to 95% of the White Population.2 The implementation of the Affordable Care Act/Covered California will likely lower the number of uninsured and future reports should tell us more about the impact on the community.
Lung Health
According to the California Health Interview Survey, 6.3% of Santa Clara County residents are current smokers.3 The population with the highest smoking rates are African-American and White, 19.2% of whom smoke.3
Overall, lung disease (including lung cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, asthma, influenza, and pneumonia) accounts for more deaths than any other health condition, in California, ranked by three-year average, 18,501.7 people have died of lung disease.4
Lung Cancer
Santa Clara County is ranked 9th in California with an age-adjusted death rate of 26.4 deaths per 100,000 people for lung cancer. Lung cancer is the fourth largest killer of county residents. The mortality rate from Lung Cancer in California is 28.4 per 100,000 population, and the trend has been going down steadily since the 1990s.5
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is the tenth leading cause of death in Santa Clara County with an age-adjusted death rate of 26.6 deaths per 100,000 population, which is lower than the California death rate of 33.3.4 This ranks Santa Clara County as 5th in the state, out of the 58 counties.4
Asthma
According to the California Health Interview Survey, 14.1 % of Santa Clara County residents have been diagnosed with asthma.3 28.9% have had an asthma attack/episode in the past 12 months. In addition to that, 17.7% of people visited the emergency room or urgent care in the past 12 months for asthma.3
Tuberculosis
In 2017, Santa Clara County had 186 cases of tuberculosis and was ranked 3rd out of the 58 counties in California.6 Asian/Pacific Islander population had the highest number of cases at 19.1 per 100,000 people. 95% of people with tuberculosis were born outside of the United States. 63% of people diagnosed with tuberculosis were between 25 and 64 years of age.7
Influenza/Pneumonia
Influenza and Pneumonia are the 11th leading cause of death in Santa Clara County, with an age-adjusted death rate of 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people.4 This rate is lower than the prior year’s death rate of 15.2 deaths per 100,000 people.4 This ranks Santa Clara as 10th out of California’s 58 counties.8
Bibliography
1. County Health Rankings. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2020, from https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/california/2018/rankings/contra-costa/county/outcomes/overall/snapshot.
2. 2014 Santa Clara County Community Health Assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2020, from https://www.sccgov.org/sites/phd/collab/chip/Documents/cha-chip/SCC_Community_Health_Assessment-2014.pdf.
3. California Health Interview Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2020, from http://ask.chis.ucla.edu/ask/SitePages/AskChisLogin.aspx?ReturnUrl=/AskCHIS/tools/_layouts/Authenticate.aspx?Source=%2FAskCHIS%2Ftools%2F%5Flayouts%2FAskChisTool%2Fhome%2Easpx&Source=/AskCHIS/tools/_layouts/AskChisTool/home.aspx#.
4. County Health Status Profiles 2018. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2020, from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/CDPH%20Document%20Library/CHSP-County%20Profiles%202018.pdf
5. State Cancer Profiles. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2020, from https://statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov/historicaltrend/index.php?0&9706&999&7599&001&047&00&2&1#results.
6. California 2017 Provisional Tuberculosis Data Tables. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2020, from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/TBCB-TB-Provisional-Tables-2017.pdf
7. TB Fact Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2020, from https://www.sccgov.org/sites/phd/DiseaseInformation/TbResources/Documents/tb-factsheet.pdf.
8. County Health Status Profiles 2017. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2020, from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/CDPHDocumentLibrary/OHIRProfiles2017.pdf