Figure 5. Classification of counties by rate of poverty and spatial situation. The distinctive north–south divide across most of the United States, in which concentrations of low poverty and spatial outliers of high poverty are confined to the northern half, and concentrations of high poverty and spatial outliers of low poverty are confined to the southern half, is termed the continental poverty divide. Data source: Community Health Status Indicators.
This online document was from 2000 and the compilation of information began in the Clinton Administration. I am confident this data still exists today, however, budget cuts may have caused a drop in quality of the information. The point is anyone interested in the health of the people of the USA now have information to how their health has improved or NOT improved under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. I think the information will be startling in states that refused exchanges and where deaths have been reported when they could have been prevented.
The release of the Community Health Status Indicators (CHSI) (click here) database provides ready access to a rich compilation of data for researchers and individuals interested in the health of communities (1). CHSI data cover a wide range of county-level attributes that describe the sociodemographic context in which people live. These attributes, often referred to as social determinants of health (2), have been found to have important proximate and distal influences on health-risk behaviors and health outcomes for individuals.
