JEFFERSON COUNTY (AL) Profile

Team Profile Summary

The Jefferson County Place Matters initiative serves Jefferson County, Alabama, the most populous county in the state. Our team seeks to improve the health and quality of life of community residents by identifying and intervening on conditions in the natural, built, and social environments (e.g., environmental health risks, food access, employment, education, poverty, housing) linked to increased risk for chronic diseases and conditions (e.g., diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity). Leveraging our collaborative partnerships, we particularly focus on reducing or eliminating health disparities through informed public policy debates, outreach and education, and community-based programs and projects designed to improve the social, economic, and physical environmental conditions in which Jefferson County residents live, work, and play.

For additional information, you may contact Dr. Monica L. Baskin at mbaskin@uab.edu.

Team Profile Details

Problem Statement

Alabama leads the nation in chronic diseases and conditions linked to premature death, disability, decreased productivity, and soaring health-care costs. Our state ranks #1 in stroke, #2 in diabetes, #3 in obesity, and #10 in cancer mortality. In Jefferson County, the leading causes of death include heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Further, the county exceeds state and national rates of obesity with approximately 67% of residents classified as overweight or obese. Similarly, mortality from heart disease and diabetes in Jefferson County are higher than national rates with 227 deaths per 100,000 population for stroke and 29 deaths per 100,000 population for diabetes. Healthy lifestyles (e.g., healthy eating, regular physical activity, avoidance of tobacco) and preventive health care (e.g., disease screening) are critical to saving lives and improving quality of life. Efforts to ensure quality education, opportunities for employment, safe neighborhoods, healthy food access, transportation, adequate housing, and clean environments are needed.

Team Objectives:

At the heart of the Jefferson County Place Matters Team is a commitment to empowerment and civic engagement. As such, our work seeks to improve the social determinants of health by: (1) informing and illuminating public policy debates via research, analysis, and information dissemination, (2) building capacity of community leaders, and (3) facilitating community action planning and implementation. Jefferson County Place Matters is involved in a number of efforts to improve health and quality of life for all residents, including, but not limited to, increasing access to affordable, healthy foods in underserved communities, developing community-level strategies that promote active living through improved land use and access to parks and recreational facilities, and aggressively monitoring and promoting laws aimed at preventing environmental degradation and safeguarding public health.

Community Partners: (in alphabetical order)

Alabama Department of Public Health, Office of Minority Health
Birmingham Metro Diversity Coalition
Congregations for Public Health, Inc.*
Deep South Network for Cancer Control
DuBois Institute
Jefferson County Commissioner George Bowman, County Health Commissioner
Jefferson County Department of Health
Main Street Birmingham, Inc.
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Division of Preventative Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center

*Founding Member

For more information and to become involved, please contact:

Team Lead: Dr. Monica L. Baskin
Email: mbaskin@uab.edu
Phone: (205) 975.5704