Healthy Anchorage Indicators (HAI) project is a data-collection project assembling indicators that describe Anchorage's health and quality of life. Each month, HAI focuses on a different indicator that tells an important story about the state of Anchorage's health and quality of life. Together, we can use this information to assess our health, identify areas that need attention, and set priorities for our day-to-day lives.

 
Since the turn of the century, the life expectancy of US citizens has increased from 45 to 75 years-a 30 year increase. Twenty-five of these 30 years of increased life are attributed to public health initiatives that improved the environment in which we live. Examples of health interventions which have increased life expectancy are the creation of safe water and sewage disposal systems, the control of disease-bearing insects and rodents, immunization programs, and improved nutrition.

Studies also show which factors most influence life expectancy. The primary determinants of human health are environment and personal behavior or lifestyle choices, such as how much we smoke, drink, and exercise. Medical care influences life expectancy only 10%. Population-wide public health measures have the potential to help prevent close to 70 percent of preventable deaths through intervention measures that target underlying risks, such as tobacco, drug, and alcohol use, diet and exercise, and environmental factors.

The science and practice of protecting and improving the health of a community, as by preventive medicine, health education, control of communicable diseases, application of sanitary measures, and monitoring of environmental hazards.

Public health's goal is simple: healthy people in healthy communities. How it strives to achieve that goal is more complicated. When most people think about health systems, they think of the one-on-one efforts of doctors and nurses to treat illness. Public health, on the other hand, treats populations. Public health interventions are designed to reduce or eliminate threats to the health of communities by using population-based strategies. Public health interventions include such medical, social, and environmental interventions as:

• The creation of safe water and sewage disposal systems
• Immunization programs
• The engineering of safety devices
• Establishment and enforcement of safe food processing and handling practices
• The identification and rapid control of disease outbreaks
• Educating the population on behaviors that will prevent injury and illness and promote a higher quality of life.
• Laws that enhance pubic safety
• Reducing poverty and violence

Public health tackles community health problems by:

• Defining the health problem;
• Identifying the risk factors associated with the problem;
• Developing and testing community-level interventions to control or prevent the causes of the problem
• Implementing interventions to improve the health of the population; and
• Monitoring these interventions to assess their effectiveness.

• Immunizations
• Fluoride in water
• Child crib standards
• Soft surfaces for playgrounds
• Mandatory life jackets (on water) for ages < 14
• Child proof caps on potentially dangerous materials
• Clean air and water quality standards
• Food sanitation standards
• Mandatory seat belt and child restraint laws
• Raising minimum drinking age
• Raising minimum tobacco use age
• Increasing the tobacco tax
• Removal of lead from paint
• Removal of lead from motor vehicle gasoline
• Emissions and maintenance inspections for motor vehicles

Some current Anchorage public health initiatives are described below.

• Reflective Tape on Child Clothing: To promote the visibility of children walking to and from school. Contact Joan Diamond at DHHS at 343-6583 for details.
• Study on the Application of Conditional Use Permits: Educating Community Councils about reducing Anchorage's alcohol-related problems by utilizing land use powers which guide how and where alcohol can be drunk or sold in a community. Contact Joan Diamond at DHHS at 343-6583 for details.
• Anchorage Safe Communities Coalition: This coalition of government, business, health care, and community groups is working to reduce the incidence of severe injury from motor vehicle crashes in Anchorage. The strength of the coalition comes from the diversity of its members. The coalition seeks to identify, prioritize, and reduce the environmental and behavioral risk factors that underlie injury in Anchorage. For example, the Coalition is working to increase seat belt and child restraint use and improve pedestrian safety. Interested parties can call Tricia Lillibridge, the Anchorage Safe Communities Coordinator at 261-5018 for information.
• House Bill No. 11 by Representative Joe Green: This bill provides for a graduated licensing system in Alaska which would require any driver under age 18 to have an instructional permit for six months and a provisional driver's license for one year before holding a full license. Anchorage residents can leave a Public Opinion Message (POM) regarding the bill with the Anchorage Legislative Office at 258-8111.
• House Bill No. 40 by Representative Kim Elton: This bill would lower the legal amount of alcohol in a person's blood to drive a motor vehicle, from .10 percent by weight of alcohol in the person's blood to .08 percent. Alcohol is a major causal factor in severe traffic crashes. Most European countries have decreased their limits to at least 0.08 BAC and already nineteen US states have done so as well. Anchorage residents can leave a Public Opinion Message (POM) regarding the bill with the Anchorage Legislative Office at 258-8111.

• Municipality of Anchorage, Department of Health and Human Services
  http://www.ci.anchorage.ak.us/Services/Departments/Health/
• Health Services and Public Health Sites on the Internet [University of Washington] http://weber.u.washington.edu/~sphcm/publink/publink.html
• Healthfinder™ is a gateway to consumer health and human services information from the US government http://www.healthfinder.gov/
• Listing of all Health and Human Service Agencies
  http://www.os.dhhs.gov/progorg/
• Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
  http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/

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