← Health Equity Report Card: Genesee County
Definition of Terms
Using words that everyone can understand is one way that we can create a healthier more informed community. Listed below are words that you will see in the Health Equity Report Card. You may have also heard them used in the media or other places. To keep our community well informed, for each word we include two definitions: one in everyday language and one from the US Department of Health and Human Services or another governmental organization.
Access
Able to get.
“Access to health care is the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes.”
Healthy People 2030, US Department of Health and Human Services.
Chronic disease, illness, or condition
A type of sickness that goes on for a long time and may never go away completely.
“Conditions that last one year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cost-prevented care
Didn’t see a doctor in the last year because it was too expensive.
“Could not see a doctor because of cost in the past year.”
Michigan Department of Health and Services.
Data
Facts, information, numbers.
“Information, especially facts or numbers, collected to be examined and considered and used to help decision-making.”
Cambridge Online Dictionary.
Health disparities
Differences in health among groups of people.
“Preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by populations that have been disadvantaged by their social or economic status, geographic location, and environment.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health equity
Ensuring that everyone has the chance to be as healthy as possible.
“The state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health insurance coverage
People who have an insurance plan that helps pay for their medical expenses.
“People who have health insurance coverage.”
US Census.
Lack of health insurance access
Adults between 18 and 64 years old who don’t have the insurance they need to help pay for doctors or hospital visits.
“Current lack of health insurance among adults aged 18-64 years.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Life expectancy
How long a person is expected to live.
“The average amount of years that a person may expect to live.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Maternal vulnerability
A risk from 0 (lower risk) to 100 (higher risk) for mothers having health problems due to factors like healthcare quality, physical and mental health, substance abuse, finances, and living conditions.
“A score (0-100), where a high score means greater risk of poor maternal outcomes based on healthcare, physical and mental health, substance abuse, socioeconomic determinants, and environment.”
Surgo Ventures.
Median household income
The middle amount of money earned by families in an area, where half earn more and half earn less.
“Income where half of the households in an area earn more and half of the households earn less.”
County Health Rankings.
Morbidity
Sick or sickness.
“Having a disease or a symptom of disease, or to the amount of disease within a population.”
National Institutes of Health.
Mortality
Death or number of deaths.
“The state of being mortal (destined to die). In medicine, a term also used for death rate, or the number of deaths in a certain group of people in a certain period of time.”
National Institutes of Health.
Preventable hospital stays
People on Medicare who had to stay in the hospital for conditions that could have been taken care of at a doctor’s office or clinic.
“Hospital stays for ambulatory-care sensitive conditions for Medicare enrollees.”
County Health Rankings.
Poor mental health
Aged 18+ individuals who’ve had poor mental health for at least half of the past month.
“Mental health has not been good for greater than or equal to 14 days among adults aged 18 or older.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Poor physical health
Aged 18+ individuals who’ve had poor physical health for at least half of the past month.
“Physical health has not been good for greater than or equal to 14 days among adults aged 18 or older.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Social determinants of health (SDOH)
Non-medical factors that influence health outcomes.
“The conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks”. This includes economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment and lastly social and community context.”
Healthy People 2030, US Department of Health and Human Services.
Socio-economic distress
A score that shows how challenging life is in a certain area due to issues such as being poor, not having a job, single parenthood, or not finishing school, with higher scores meaning more people are facing these issues.
“A census block group-level continuous variable referring to the amount of material and social deprivation (lone parenthood, poverty, low educational attainment, and unemployment combined into one score), in which higher numbers mean higher distress.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Uninsured
People who do not have an insurance plan that helps pay for their medical expenses.
“People who currently lack health insurance aged 0-65.”
City Health Dashboard.
Years of potential life lost
The years people missed out on living when they die before turning 75.
“Rate of years of potential life lost from all causes of death before age 75.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.