A young man sits on a bench in Potter Marsh in Anchorage in an undated photo. Social isolation is one of the risk factors associated with poorer health among Alaska adults, according to a new report. (Photo by LaraBelova/Getty Images)
Alaska adults coping with stress, isolation, housing insecurity or other social or economic problems were much more likely to be in poor health than those who do not face such risks, said a new report issued by the state Department of Health.
The findings, from surveys done in 2022 through a survey known as the Alaska Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, were summarized in a two-page report published by the department at the end of September. The surveillance system is a collaboration between the state and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It uses annual telephone surveys to gather information about health and behaviors that might affect it, such as nutrition, exercise and tobacco and alcohol use.
The report identifies 10 social risk factors. In order of prevalence among surveyed Alaskans, they are: stress, social isolation, lack of social and emotional support, food insecurity, housing insecurity, loss or reduction of employment, unmet medical need due to cost, reliance on food stamps, lack of reliable transportation, lack of health insurance coverage, utility insecurity and general life dissatisfaction.
The majority of survey respondents said they had either none of those social risk factors or only one in their lives, the report said. But nearly 20% reported facing four or more of the identified risk factors.
Of those with four or more risk factors, 38% reported that their health was poor or only fair. That was nearly five times the rate of poor or fair health reported by respondents who said they face no social risk factors.
Northern and Western Alaska were the regions with the highest percentage of survey respondents reporting four or more risk factors, while the Gulf Coast was the region with the lowest such percentage, the report said. The Gulf Coast includes the Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak, Prince William Sound and the Copper River valley.
The system’s data collection might be missing the most vulnerable Alaska adults, so the percentages of people with multiple risk factors may be understated, the report said.
Follow-up work will provide more analysis and some guidance for health promotion strategies, the report said.
“Public health efforts in Alaska should consider multi-level programs, policies, diverse partnerships, and discussions that address both the root causes of health inequities and the upstream disparities in daily living conditions,” the report’s authors wrote. “Data presented also supports engagement with Alaska public health regions that experience a high prevalence of social risk factors.”
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