The County Health Calculator, a tool developed by Virginia Commonwealth University's Center on Human Needs researchers in Richmond, Va., from 2010 to 2012 shows opportunities for improving population health by changing various social factors.
The calculator shows how changing factors such as education, income and the environment at the county, state and national level can improve healthcare. For example, Illinois could save 3,300 lives and $233 million in diabetes costs every year if 5 percent more people attended some college and 4 percent more had an income higher than twice the federal poverty level, according to the calculator.
The tool, which was developed with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is one of the projects featured as part of RWJF's recent release of data on U.S. counties' health.
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The calculator shows how changing factors such as education, income and the environment at the county, state and national level can improve healthcare. For example, Illinois could save 3,300 lives and $233 million in diabetes costs every year if 5 percent more people attended some college and 4 percent more had an income higher than twice the federal poverty level, according to the calculator.
The tool, which was developed with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is one of the projects featured as part of RWJF's recent release of data on U.S. counties' health.
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