Scott McCann, the county’s director of health education, said he came to a similar conclusion while compiling a community health status report for the Public Health Department. That study focused more on premature death, risk factors, and prevention, but also considered disease prevalence, physical activity levels, poverty levels, and other important factors.
McCann said Santa Barbara County has low premature death rates in comparison to the state, and comparatively low instances of life-threatening diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and lung cancer.
But it’s not all medical details, McCann said.
“I think part of it’s the climate. People can get outdoors more frequently than other places like in the Midwest or other places that it snows,” he said. “But that’s just one factor that goes into the analysis of a place.”
And while Santa Barbara County is what many people would consider a nice place to live, McCann said he doesn’t “want to minimize the problems in comparison. There are still plenty of needs here. Needs that we [at the health department] deal with on a daily basis.”
For more information about the poll, visit gallup.com and click on “well-being.” The county’s community health status report can be found at sbcphd.org.
This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 4, 2010.