Appalachian Health

A healthy population is a critical component of a thriving community, yet in Appalachia, poor health statistics parallel poor economic conditions. This chapter updates previous work by the Appalachian Regional Commission on disparities in mortality and morbidity across the region, exploring both classes of indicators from 1989-1995 and from 2008-2014. It focuses on 10 mortality measures (heart disease, cancer, COPD, injury, poisoning, stroke, diabetes, suicide, infant mortality, and years of potential life lost) and five morbidity indicators (physically unhealthy days, mentally unhealthy days, HIV prevalence, diabetes prevalence, and obesity prevalence) to illuminate health-outcome gaps separating Appalachian communities from peer counties. In many cases, trends in mortality and morbidity are improving across the region. However, as these data show, progress in Appalachia still lags behind that made in the rest of the country, providing a compelling argument for targeted attention and intervention.