City releases health profiles for Queens communities

BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI

The city Department of Health has released its Queens Community Health Profiles, a detailed breakdown of the health of each of the 14 community districts in the borough.

“The Community Health Profiles will help us to better identify and understand the root causes of the health disparities we see every day in our work throughout the borough. Knowledge is power, and we look forward to using this new knowledge in our fight to ensure that all residents of Queens have an equal opportunity to live a healthy life,” said Lisa David, President and CEO of Public Health Solutions .

Taking into account measurements of neighborhood conditions, social and economic factors, and health care and outcomes, the study aims to paint a picture of each neighborhood’s overall well-being. This year, the department has added more non-traditional health indicators to each profile, such as housing quality, supermarket square footage per 100 people, and the number of tobacco retailers per 10,000 people, in order to produce a fuller, more comprehensive report.

The findings per community district are as follows:

District 1 (Long Island City and Astoria): Approximately 81 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 19 percent of residents live below the federal poverty line. In the district, stroke is the fourth most common cause of death, but the sixth most common cause citywide. A lower percentage of homes have maintenance defects compared with homes citywide. The district has the second highest smoking rate in the city. There is a 22 percent rate of obesity among adults; 36 percent of adults get the flu vaccine, one of the lowest rates in the city.
District 2 (Woodside and Sunnyside): Approximately 77 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 16 percent of residents live below the poverty line. Death rates due to suicide and liver disease are higher than the citywide average. The injury assault rate is lower than the citywide rate. It has one of the lowest drug-related hospitalization rates in the city. There is a 19 percent rate of obesity among adults. One in five adults has no health insurance.
District 3 (Jackson Heights): Approximately 79 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 22 percent of residents live below the poverty line. Additionally, 59 percent of residents spend more than 30 percent of their monthly gross income on rent. The teen birthrate is higher than the Queens and citywide rates. The district also has the highest rate of uninsured adults in New York City (38 percent), and 91 percent of adults consume at least one or more fruit or vegetable a day. The top causes of death for residents are heart disease and cancer.
District 4 (Elmhurst and Corona): Approximately 69 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 23 percent of residents live below the poverty line. Supermarket access is the second-lowest in the city, with only 83 square feet of supermarket space per 100 people. The injury assault rate is lower than the citywide rate. One-third of adults consume at least one sugary beverage a day. One in three adults has no health insurance, the second-highest rate in the city.
District 5 (Ridgewood and Maspeth): Approximately 83 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 14 percent of residents live below the poverty line. Tobacco retailers are more prevalent here than in the city overall. The injury assault rate is about one-third the citywide rate. There is a 21 percent rate of obesity among adults. The rate of adults getting the flu vaccination is the third-lowest in the city. Death rates due to lower respiratory diseases, accidents, and liver disease are higher than the citywide rate.
District 6 (Rego Park and Forest Hills): Approximately 87 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 10 percent of residents live below the poverty line. The rate of elementary school absenteeism is one of the lowest in the city. Moreover, 70 percent of adults report getting physical activity in the last 30 days, the fifth-lowest rate citywide. The injury assault rate is the lowest in the city. Death rates due to flu and pneumonia and suicide are higher than citywide rates.
District 7 (Flushing and Whitestone): Approximately 70 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 15 percent of residents live below the poverty line. Supermarket access is the second-highest in the city, with 342 square feet per 100 people. The injury assault rate is less than one-third the citywide rate. Almost one-quarter of adults have no health insurance.
District 8 (Hillcrest and Fresh Meadows): Approximately 83 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 16 percent of residents live below the poverty line. The teen birth rate is less than one-third the citywide rate. Additionally, 73 percent of adults report getting physical activity in the last 30 days. One in six adults has no health insurance. There is a 16 percent rate of obesity among adults, which is lower than the citywide average.
District 9 (Kew Gardens and Woodhaven): Approximately 79 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 17 percent of residents live below the poverty line. Over half of residents spend more than 30 percent of their monthly gross income on rent. The injury assault rate is higher than the overall rate in Queens. Finally, 93 percent of adults consume at least one or more fruit or vegetable a day.
District 10 (South Ozone Park and Howard Beach): Approximately 76 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 13 percent of residents live below the poverty line. Moreover, 12 percent of residents are current smokers, which is lower than the citywide average. Nearly one in five adults lacks health insurance. Death rates due to diabetes, liver disease, accidents, and Alzheimer’s disease are higher than the citywide rates.
District 11 (Bayside and Little Neck): Approximately 85 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 9 percent of residents live below the poverty line. It was also noted that 95 percent of adults consume at least one or more fruit or vegetable a day, the highest percentage citywide; 16 percent of adults are current smokers. The injury assault rate is less than one-fifth the citywide rate. One in eight adults has no health insurance.
District 12 (Jamaica and Hollis): Approximately 80 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 17 percent of residents live below the Federal Poverty Line. More than one in five elementary school students misses 20 or more school days. Additionally, 13 percent of residents are current smokers, which is lower than the citywide average. The district has one of the highest rates of stroke hospitalization in the city. 79 percent of adults report getting physical activity in the last 30 days.
District 13 (Queens Village): Approximately 82 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 10 percent of residents live below the poverty line. The district ranks fifth-lowest citywide in supermarket space, with only 85 square feet per 100 people. The teen birth rate is half the citywide average. Moreover, 34 percent of adults consume one or more 12-ounce sugary drinks per day, which is higher than the citywide average; 12 percent of adults are current smokers.
District 14 (Rockaway and Broad Channel): Approximately 79 percent of residents report their own health as “good” or better and 19 percent of residents live below the poverty line. Over half of residents spend more than 30 percent of their monthly gross income on rent. Reportedly, 81 percent of adults report getting physical activity in the last 30 days. The district ranks highest in Queens in alcohol and drug-related hospitalizations. Finally, 17 percent of adults are current smokers.