A review of health care data shows that Cattaraugus County needs to work on preventing chronic disease, promoting well-being, and preventing mental health and substance abuse disorders. The findings were published by the Jandoli Institute today (July 27) as part of the organization’s hybrid journalism project.

The essay, “What data can tell us about the state of health in Cattaraugus County,” was reported and written by Pauline Hoffmann, an associate professor in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University, and Xiao-Ning Zhang, director of the Biochemistry Program and a professor in the Department of Biology at St. Bonaventure.

Hoffmann and Zhang used data from several reports to compare Cattaraugus County with New York state and the nation. They found that the county has:

• An older population;
• A higher percentage of people with just a high school education;
• Higher poverty rates;
• A more rural environment;
• Fewer households with broadband access;
• Higher smoking rates;
• More adult obesity;
• Lower access to exercise opportunities;
• Higher teen birth rates;
• More children living in poverty,
• Higher percentage of injury deaths, and
• More drinking water violations.

“Using available data, a community story unfolds,” the two authors wrote. “The higher poverty rate, rural setting, less access to primary care physicians, and education all contribute to higher incidences of chronic diseases. If people don’t have access to a primary care physician, they may not get treatment for a disease that is easily preventable or manageable like diabetes.”

Full details are in the article on the institute’s website.

The article is part of a series of essays produced for the Jandoli Institute’s Hybrid Journalism Project in which professors from different disciplines partner with faculty from the Jandoli School to develop and produce news stories.

“The goal of the project is for the non-journalism faculty to gain insight into our industry and for the journalism faculty to learn how those with knowledge and expertise in different fields can strengthen our reporting,” Jandoli Institute Executive Director Richard Lee said.

The project is funded by a grant from the Leo E. Keenan Jr. Faculty Development Endowment.

The Jandoli Institute, a part of the Jandoli School of Communication, serves as a forum for academic research, creative ideas and discussion on the intersection between media and democracy.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional university value in the North in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 college rankings edition.