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leave it there. Thank you
so much for joining us.

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>> I'm so grateful. Thank
you for your time.

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>> Turning to health news,
20% of Wisconsinites are

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self-reporting poor or fair
physical health, and 1 in 7

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say the same of their
mental health. This is

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according to the new state
health assessment, which

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comes out every five years.
The Department of Health

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Services is looking for
ways to fill in the gaps.

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Steven Potter spoke with
the state health officer,

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Paula Tran for Moore,
beginning with what the

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report is measuring.
>> Overall, we are

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measuring the things that
shape Wisconsinites health

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as well as the health
outcomes. So we're looking

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at things like demographic
factors who lives in

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Wisconsin, where they live.
We're also measuring the

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main causes of death, and
we're also looking at all

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of the factors that really
shape an individual's

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ability to be healthy and
well, like economic factors,

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looking at housing, looking
at affordable access to

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resources that people need,
like food and

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transportation, as well as
their access to health care

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directly.
>> What are the most

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significant health concerns
facing Wisconsinites?

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>> Yeah. Well, we know that
Wisconsinites are dying

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younger than before the
pandemic, and we know that

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there's a lot of challenges
for Wisconsinites in

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accessing both the daily
resources that they need to

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be healthy and well. So
healthy food, having safe,

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secure housing, having
transportation to get them

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to where they need, as well
as having good access to

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affordable care where they
need it, when they need it.

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>> One of the key points in
your new report is that

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Wisconsinites feel that
there are major obstacles

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to them receiving health
care. They need to be

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healthy. What are those
barriers?

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>> Yeah, some of the
barriers are costs, and

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access to insurance
actually covers all the

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kinds of care that they
need, and cost and

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insurance kind of go
together. And we know that

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most people access
insurance through their

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employer. So if they are
experiencing gaps in

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employment, that might
insurance and their for

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their access to care. When
we look at care directly,

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we know that in parts of
our state, there are gaps

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in kinds of care. So
hospitals have closed over

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the last several years and
more rural areas. And even

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in urban areas, we're
seeing clinics and other

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health care providers
closed down or just just

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based on, you know, the
challenges it takes to run

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a health care organization.
So both getting to care in

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a way that's accessible and
access can be defined again,

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by cost, by being able to
drive to the care or and

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also having the right kind
of provider for the care

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you need.
>> A large number of

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residents rated their own
health as poor or fair.

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About 20% of residents said
that. Why are they feeling

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this way?
>> Yeah, it again, when we

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look at all of the
challenges that

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Wisconsinites are facing,
we know that overall costs

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are rising across not just
health care, but all daily

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living needs. So that is
putting a stress on

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families. And because our
incomes are also being

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impacted and not rising as
quickly for some, with the

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inflation of other costs,
Wisconsinites are being

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forced to choose between
these really important

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things that they need,
whether it's putting food

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on the table with
medications or accessing

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care because there's a
co-payment that they cannot

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afford. So all of those
things are contributing to

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how Wisconsinites are
feeling and to their health

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outcomes, that we continue
to be challenged around

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obesity, obesity,
hypertension that causes a

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whole host of chronic
diseases. So there are both

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the drivers of health that
are causing more stress for

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Wisconsinites and accessing
the things that they need

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to be healthy and well are
also exacerbating and

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allowing other health
outcomes to persist.

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>> Along the lines of with
mental health. What did

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your report find?
>> Yeah, we know that

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Wisconsinites are
struggling, they're

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experiencing stress, and
they're also reporting that

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their mental health is is
poor. And when they need

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supports around mental
health, it's very difficult

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to access the kind of
mental health care that

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they need. And we know our
mental health care

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environment has a lot of
room to improve around

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coordinating around
different kinds of care,

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receiving the right
referrals for the care you

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need, and all across the
care continuum, making sure

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we are coordinated so that
at any part of the entry of

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that continuum, folks are
accessing early and not

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allowing some of those
challenges to persist, to

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become worse and
potentially be in crisis

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situations.
>> Your report also

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measures some good things.
Residents who vote,

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volunteer, or do favors for
others. Why is it important

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to measure these things and
what did you find?

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>> Yeah. What the current
evidence tells us is

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communities that are more
engaged and active and

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connected to each other,
the healthier those

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communities are. It both
helps from a mental health

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perspective. But when in a
community, a neighbor is in

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need of something, they're
much more likely to be able

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to have community support
be responsive to those

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needs. So there's a lot of
different reasons why

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community connectedness and
community engagement and

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being civically involved
helps a community stay

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healthier and access the
resources it needs. So

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that's an absolutely great
finding for us that more