A recent study shows that when it comes to health and quality of life in the Sunshine State, South Florida’s counties are at the top in some areas – and have a long way to go in others.
The 2017 County Health Rankings, conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute, show Miami-Dade (2nd), Broward (5th) and Palm Beach (9th) all ranking in the top 10 for length of life. Monroe County came in 23rd.
At the same time, those in the Keys tend to have a higher quality of life – with Monroe coming in at 6th in the state. Palm Beach was ranked 13th while Broward came in 43rd and Miami-Dade finished 57th.
Palm Beach finished 11th in clinical care, well ahead of the other three South Florida counties (Broward in 24th, Monroe in 36th and Miami-Dade in 45th). Miami-Dade and Broward were two of the lowest in the state when it comes to physical environment – as Broward finished in 60th place while Miami-Dade finished in dead last at 67th place.
The study shows rise nationally in premature deaths, in particular due to an increase in deaths among those between 15 and 44 years of age with drug overdoses being the main cause of death for those between 25 and 44.
