Klamath County Public Health and the OHSU School of Nursing students completed a Retail Environment Assessment in 2014.
Traditionally health was thought of as something you got at the doctor’s office, but now we know that health starts where you live, work, learn, and play. The goal of public health is to create a community where people can thrive by making the healthy choice the easy choice.
Currently, Klamath County’s health rankings are very low, coming in at 33 out of 33 Oregon counties. The first step to improving health status is taking the pulse of the community and determining how to target public health efforts. In the United States, tobacco, obesity, and alcohol are the top three leading causes of preventable death, which are also priority health issues in Klamath County.
The purpose of this assessment is to examine the retail environment to understand the level of influence it has on community health.
Special attention is paid to the youth demographic throughout this assessment because they are highly impressionable and highly targeted by advertisers. Health habits start at a young age and as adolescents become autonomous they begin to make independent decisions that affect their health. Tobacco, alcohol, food, and lottery are included in the assessment because of their role in preventable death and unhealthy behaviors that affect Klamath County.
To view the full report click here.