Chronic Disease
Healthy living and healthy aging are the norm for everyone in Henderson County.
If you have a desire to be involved in community strategies/programs related to chronic disease, please contact us below
The Chronic Disease Action Team is a group of community agencies, organizations and individuals that work collaboratively towards healthy living, and healthy aging as the norm for everyone in Henderson County. The Community Health Assessment data indicators that identify chronic disease as a community health priority is the baseline used to guide the work of this action team.
Action Team meeting details on the PFH Calendar
Chronic diseases, like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, are in the top ten leading causes of death in Henderson County. Chronic Diseases are the leading causes of illness, disability, and death nationally and locally. It also represents a significant portion of healthcare costs and reduces quality of life. This priority stems from the ability to prevent and manage many chronic conditions through public health initiatives and community efforts that promote healthy behaviors and policies, improve access to care, and address social determinants of health like food insecurities, unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity.
In past CHA cycles, Obesity was a health priority in 2012 and 2015, then renamed to Physical Activity and Nutrition for 2018 and 2021. By identifying Chronic Disease as a health priority in 2024, previously identified strategies such as physical activity and nutrition are linked to benefiting much more than a specific health issue such as obesity.
In 2024, about 22% of adults in Henderson County reported participating in no leisure-time physical activity in the past month. Just 29% of survey respondents self-reported meeting the physical activity recommendations of greater than or equal to 150 minutes of moderate-aerobic physical activity per week. Only 4.5% of adults in Henderson County reported consuming the recommended amounts (five or more 1-cup servings) of fruits/vegetables per day. When disaggregated by race and ethnicity, Hispanic and Black adults are much less likely to participate in physical activity and consume the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables per day.
Overall, 24.1% of adults in Henderson County are food insecure, meaning they ran out of food in the past year and/or worried about running out of food in the past year. When disaggregated by race and ethnicity, 53.3% of Hispanic adults were classified as food insecure, as compared to 45.9% Black adults and 20.4% White adults. Food Insecurity has increased locally, regionally and nationally.
HNC2030: Physical Activity & Nutrition and the related result, "Healthy eating and safe, active living are the norm for everyone in Henderson County", are aligned with the following Healthy NC 2030 health indicators and desired results:
—Access to Exercise Opportunities- Increase physical activity
—Limited Access to Healthy Food- Improve access to healthy food