Norteast Pennsulvania People Amongst the Most miserable in the United States? I could hve told you that!!! read below:: People in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton metropolitan area are among the most miserable in the nation, according to a report released last week. The State of American Well-Being, a report released by Gallup and Healthways, ranks the area 177th out of 189 metropolitan areas surveyed to gauge residents sense of well-being. The highest ranked area was Provo-Orem, Utah, and the lowest ranked was the Huntington, W.Va.-Ashland, Ky. area. Their continuing economic down slide, bad memories, misperceptions and even a lack of sunlight may play a part in Northeastern Pennsylvanians gloomy outlook, some local experts say. More than 178,000 people across the country were interviewed last year, including a sample size of 1,092 from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area. The survey asked people to rate their life evaluation - a combination of current situation evaluation and the anticipated situation in five years - emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors and basic access to health care and other necessities. The report is meant to be a tool for employers, governments and health care providers to use to develop strategies to improve their organizations and communities. Three major trends the researchers noted are decreases in the number of people with health insurance, rising rates of obesity and declining work environment scores. Margaret Rapp, the director of the social work program at Misericordia University, said she was not surprised to see a report that painted a picture of doom and gloom in the region. Rapp noted that it has taken a long time to recover from the recession that began in 2007. The state Department of Labor and Industry recently reported that the unemployment rate in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metro area fell four-tenths of a percentage point to 7.7 percent. The drop is an indication that fewer people are seeking work, Rapp said. Residents of Northeastern Pennsylvania also have collective memory of mining disasters, Hurricane Agnes and the collapse of the silk and railroad industries - issues that breed fear of residents losing their independence, families and homes, she said. My personal experience is that were dealing with a very fragile population that is trying to cross over into the 21st century, Rapp said. She also noted that the region has fewer mean hours of sunshine than many other parts of the country, which can have a psychological impact. All in all, I think the struggles are very real for people in Northeast Pa. I think theyre a good, honest people - a lot of integrity, a lot of energy, very afraid of change because theyve been burned so many times resulting in this almost fear cycle, Rapp said. Allen Minor, director of the health care management program at Misericordia University, said he thought the issue on the health care side was more to do with public awareness than lack of services. He noted facilities in the region include the Geisinger-Community Medical Centers trauma center in Scranton and the Janet Weis Childrens Hospital in Danville. I think that the quality is good, Minor said. I just think the public is not informed. Its a lack of effort on our part to educate the citizens as to what the advantages are. Theres a lot of attitudes - misperceptions - of people thinking they will get better quality of care outside of this area. Other communities in the commonwealth ran the gamut in the survey, which ranked Lancaster 21st; Harrisburg-Carlisle 40th; Reading 73rd; Philadelphia 100th; Pittsburgh 101st; Erie 117th; York-Hanover 143rd; and Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 157th. As a whole, Pennsylvania ranked 36th among the states in the survey, down from 29th in 2012. Residents of North Dakota reported the highest rates of well-being, while those of West Virginia reported the lowest rates. jhalpin@citizensvoice Top-rated metropolitan areas: 1. Provo-Orem, Utah 2. Boulder, Colo. 3. Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo. 4. Honolulu 5. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. 6. Ann Arbor, Mich. 7. Naples-Marco Island, Fla. 8. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif. 9. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. 10. Lincoln, Neb. Worst-rated metropolitan areas: 1. Huntington, W.Va., and Ashland, Ky. 2. Charleston, W.Va. 3. Redding, Calif. 4. Spartanburg, S.C. 5. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C. 6. Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas 7. Columbus, Ga. 8. Shreveport-Bossier City, La. 9. Mobile, Ala. 10. Evansville, Ind.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 16:28:48 +0000
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