Penobscot County Health Penobscot county is one of the sixteen counties in the state of Maine. 153,414 out of the 1,330,089 individuals who live in Maine reside in here. Penobscot County is rated worse than the state of Maine in many measures of health. Overall, in health it is ranked 12th. Demographic factors in the county that are related to the heath status include age and race. Penobscot county has less individuals who are below 18 years of age. 18.7% are under the age of 18 while state wide 19.5% of the population are under the age of 18. This demographic is related to the health status of Penobscot county, because younger children are more likely to be more active and therefore healthier. It is more likely for a county with less individuals
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One being health behaviors, more specifically, adult smoking, access to exercise opportunities, and teen births. In penobscot county, smoking has been banned in many public areas which may have had an influence on these ranks. 17% of the population in penobscot county are current smokers while 19% of the population of Maine are. These bans, for example the one here at husson university, and at the local hospital, prohibit people from convenient areas to smoke. This causes people to leave the area and smoke. It is hoped that people will smoke less due to these bans. As for access to exercise opportunities, the outcomes are not as successful. Although there are more opportunities, the general health status of the Penobscot population is worse than the state of Maine. In Penobscot 16.4% of the population has fair or poor health, while 14.7% of the population in Maine. This shows that people do not take advantage of the opportunities presented. In Penobscot county there are fast food restaurants in most towns. This encourages the unhealthy lifestyles, and outweighs the healthier choices. Prevention of teen pregnancy is taught and encouraged in most high schools in Penobscot. Out of 1,000 females aged 15-19, 20 are teen moms. In Maine 22 of 1,000 are. It is likely that this lower statistic is due to the precautions taken in order to prevent teen …show more content…
At this age, people are growing and experiencing parts of like that they haven’t been able to before. In this county, I know becoming more strict on alcohol sales would not help this cause. Most people know each other so the high school students would always have a way to get alcohol. One way that I think would be useful would be by making something else much bigger. For example, a school could make a sport, such as football, a huge importance. They could then have bomb fire to celebrate the win, or to prepare for a big game. I think this would be a good idea, because firstly it would be alcohol free, but it would also be exciting for the students and a great social event. This could teach the students that their is more to having fun than
One being health behaviors, more specifically, adult smoking, access to exercise opportunities, and teen births. In penobscot county, smoking has been banned in many public areas which may have had an influence on these ranks. 17% of the population in penobscot county are current smokers while 19% of the population of Maine are. These bans, for example the one here at husson university, and at the local hospital, prohibit people from convenient areas to smoke. This causes people to leave the area and smoke. It is hoped that people will smoke less due to these bans. As for access to exercise opportunities, the outcomes are not as successful. Although there are more opportunities, the general health status of the Penobscot population is worse than the state of Maine. In Penobscot 16.4% of the population has fair or poor health, while 14.7% of the population in Maine. This shows that people do not take advantage of the opportunities presented. In Penobscot county there are fast food restaurants in most towns. This encourages the unhealthy lifestyles, and outweighs the healthier choices. Prevention of teen pregnancy is taught and encouraged in most high schools in Penobscot. Out of 1,000 females aged 15-19, 20 are teen moms. In Maine 22 of 1,000 are. It is likely that this lower statistic is due to the precautions taken in order to prevent teen …show more content…
At this age, people are growing and experiencing parts of like that they haven’t been able to before. In this county, I know becoming more strict on alcohol sales would not help this cause. Most people know each other so the high school students would always have a way to get alcohol. One way that I think would be useful would be by making something else much bigger. For example, a school could make a sport, such as football, a huge importance. They could then have bomb fire to celebrate the win, or to prepare for a big game. I think this would be a good idea, because firstly it would be alcohol free, but it would also be exciting for the students and a great social event. This could teach the students that their is more to having fun than