A study released this week has Kosciusko County ranked 20th out of 92 counties in Indiana when it comes to health outcomes.
The website County Health Rankings is part of the Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health project, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
It uses several factors to determine health factors for every county in the United States.
Health outcomes are based on the mortality versus morbidity.
In terms of health outcomes, Kosciusko County ranks 20th.
Hamilton County is first while Dubois County is second.
Marshall County ranked 10th, Whitley County 9th, Elkhart County 19th and Wabash County 52nd.
Scott County in Southern Indiana ranked last.
In terms of health factors, Kosciusko County ranks slightly lower at 34.
Kosciusko County is at the state average in terms of adult smokers, obesity and teen birth rate but slightly below the state average in excessive, or binge, drinking.
Sixteen percent of adults in Kosciuso County are uninsured compared to the state average of 15 percent. For children, 13 percent live in poverty in Kosciusko County compared to the state average of 18 percent.
Kosciusko County, according to the study, is well below the state average when it comes to access to healthy foods but is right at the state average when it comes to recreational facilities.
The study does have fairly high margin of error rates.
The Kosciusko County Health Department was not contacted for the study or asked to provide data.
Kosciusko County is listed has having 10 percent of its population being diabetic.
According to the study, with no marion of error listed, 49 people in Kosciusko County tested positive for HIV.
That number is significantly lower than other counties in Indiana with similar populations.
Grant County with Marion as its county seat had 73 people test positive for HIV.
Population wise Grant County's population estimate was about 8,000 less than Kosciusko County.
Kosciusko County's population was recently listed at 76,499.
For more information, visit www.countyhealthrankings.org/
