Speakers at today's first-ever Women's Health Policy Summit, which runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the UCI Student Center, include Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove); Diana
Bonta, president and CEO of The California Wellness Foundation; and
Terri Thorfinnson, chief of the California Office of Women's Health. Brittany Goettsch, who recently
earned a master's degree in public health at UCI, presents “A Snapshot of Women's Health in Orange County” that draws on various data to unveil good and bad news for females here.
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Here are 10 facts revealed today that the presenter will go into more detail about:
Orange County is among the healthiest counties in California, ranking sixth in health outcomes (mortality and morbidity) out of 56.
And we're eighth in health factors, which includes behaviors, clinical care, socio-economic factors and physical environment.
However, Orange County women, particularly those of color and low income, are not as healthy as females in many other California counties when it comes to breast and cervical cancers, being victims of domestic violence and teen reproductive health.
The gonorrhea rate among females in Orange County has increased over the past two years.
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And the chlamydia infection rate of females far surpasses that of males here, with those ages 15 to 24 the most severely affected. Close those legs, ladies!
Self-inflicted injuries by females is nearly double that for males in Orange County.
Suicide rates have increased of late.
The Orange County Caesarean section rate is much higher than it should be.
Rates of gestational diabetes are on the rise here.
Orange County has a slightly lower Alzheimer's Disease rate compared to other counties, but it is positioned to increase and eventually equal the others.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.