In a recently released report on the health of Illinois’ counties, researchers found that where citizens live, work and play has a significant impact on their general well-being.

The report, released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, ranks Champaign County 31st among the counties in overall health and 25th in risk factors, including health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment.

Susan Farner, an instructor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, said there are a few different issues contributing to Champaign’s ranking more than others.

“We have risk factors related to sex and alcohol, which has probably raised it (the ranking),” Farner said. “We also have a pretty high food insecurity rate and poverty rate.”

Farner said the University’s campus community could help Champaign move up in the rankings by focusing on sex and alcohol safety education.

Julie Pryde, an administrator for the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, said that because Champaign is such a developed city, industry and air pollution are pretty high on the risk factor list. Other serious risk factors include those related to alcohol consumption and unprotected sexual activity.

“If you’re not a dry county, you’re obviously going to score lower, and because we’re a college community we have more people in that age range,” Pryde said.

She said some of the things that were taken into account would be difficult to alter, such as alcohol consumption and pollution.

“We’re pretty proactive in this community, but some things you simply can’t change because it creates other problems,” Pryde said.

But Pryde also said this study is one of many studies released each year, and the public health district does not base its actions off of any one singular study.

“It just depends on what data is looked at,” Pryde said. “It gives us kind of an airplane level view of the community.”

Pryde said that more focus is placed on the IPLAN, a need-based community health assessment done every five years by local health administrations in Illinois, which gives a “bicycle seat,” or a more local view, of a community’s general health.

“Through programming and regulation we can address these issues at the local level,” Pryde said.

Smoking and obesity rates, the number of children in poverty, the unemployment rate, the number of high school and college graduates and the violent crime rate were also accounted for in the study.

Farner said in order for Champaign to become a healthier community, both University students and Champaign County residents need to work together.

“You can’t segment it out,” Farner said. “To get the county as a whole to improve it has to be a joint project.”