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Hall Countians view themselves as
 healthy.
Compared to Southerners overall, fewer Hall Countians feel their
health is only fair
or poor.
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Access to physician care seems to have improved since the 1998
Healthy Hall study.
94% report seeing a doctor in the past three years and 82% report
having a doctor they see regularly; however, simple
access to a doctor does not mean all Hall Countians access care in
the best way. In fact, 12% of respondents said they
would go to the ER if they needed care.
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11% of respondents reported having no insurance at all.
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Where there is trouble accessing health care, lack of insurance or
lack of money are the primary reasons. Latinos and those with less
education are far more likely to fall into this category.
-
Latinos and Blacks continue to have more difficulty with access to
health care than Whites in Hall County, though the gap has narrowed
some since 1998.
-
90% of children under 18 have seen a doctor in the past year.
However, only 68% of children have seen a dentist in the last 12
months.
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There are significant improvements since 1998 for some health
indicators among Latino women. For example, 64% of the Latino women
report performing a breast self-exam, compared to just 20% in 1998.
Further, 41% of Latino women over 40 report never having a mammogram,
compared with 72% in 1998.
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Use of tobacco seems to be declining. 23% report using tobacco on a
regular basis now, compared with almost one third five years ago.
There are indications smoking is declining even more among Hall County
adults under 30.
 Safety
& Security
-
over 5% report that they or someone in their household were victims
of an act of violence in the past year. Half of these violent acts
occurred at home.
-
25% of Hall Countians surveyed worry about their family’s safety
at home, a finding that is consistent across all income and education
levels.
-
More Hall Countians are concerned about safety while shopping than
in any other place—36% say they worry about safety while shopping or
at malls.
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Overall, 14% say they are aware of gang activity in their
neighborhood, compared with 13% in 1998. However, 23% of Blacks
responding say they are aware of gangs. In a related finding, 40% of
Black parents say they do not feel their children are safe when they
go out to play.
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24% of American parents say they fear for their child’s safety at
school. In Hall County, 21% do.
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28% of parents report a child who has been bullied at school.
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Among all parents, only 7.5% report they are worried about their
children using drugs or alcohol. Only 6% worry about their children
using tobacco.
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66% of parents said they have talked to their children about their
views of drugs and alcohol.
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86% of Hall Countians believe police do a good job. The approval
rating is considerably lower among Blacks, however, where 65% said the
police do a good job.
-
Only 18% of Blacks and 30% of Latinos reported they are completely
confident they would be treated fairly by police if they were stopped
on the street or accused of a crime. Comparatively, 57% of Whites feel
they would be treated
fairly.
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Over 35% of Hall Countians believe it is a good idea to keep a
loaded gun in the home.
Connections to Community
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 84% rate the quality of life in Hall County as excellent or good.
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However, 30% would move from Hall County if they could. This
finding is driven largely by younger adults; 47% of those under 30 said they would like to move.
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30% of Hall Countians reported serving as a volunteer in the past
year, and 28% said they were active in a non-church group or club.
-
42% reported donating more than $100 to a non-church organization.
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On average, 43% of Americans and 50% of Southerners attend a
worship service in a given week. 54% of Hall County respondents report
attending worship services at least once a week. Those aged 61-70 are
almost twice as likely to participate in worship as those aged 18-30.
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75% said they know their neighbors well enough to lend them $50 if
they really needed it. This is up from 66.5% in 1998.
-
Those aged 61-70 are three times more likely to report voting in
the last national election that those aged 18-30. Overall, 60% of respondents reported voting, a number consistent
with November, 2002 turnout statistics.
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Most Hall Countians surveyed (75%) say they are well informed on
local news, with a similar percentage citing local newspapers as their
primary source of information.
-
In 1998, 44% of Hall County’s Black residents and 42% of
Hispanics said Hall County was very racist. Attitudes may be changing
somewhat, as today 35% of Black respondents and 21% of Hispanic
respondents disagree with this statement.
 Outlook
for the Future
-
Hall Countians appear to be generally happy. 91% are confident
about the future at least some of
the time. 93% feel calm and peaceful, at least some of the time.
Ten percent say they are afraid or
nervous about their futures most of the time.
-
Only 5% of Americans believe public schools do a “very good
job.” 20% of Hall County respondents believe local public schools
are doing an excellent job preparing children for the future.
Nationally, 10% say schools do a “very bad job.” In Hall County,
only 4% feel that way.
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52% believe their elected officials are working to make Hall County
a better place. Long-term Hall residents are less likely to feel this
way, however, than those who have lived in Hall County less than 5
years.
-
60% are confident their jobs are secure, at least for the next
year. Those with lower levels of education, however, are far less
confident about the future of their jobs.
-
73% of those working feel they have opportunities to advance in
their jobs.
-
Most workers in Hall County (92.5%) say they are happy in their
jobs, significantly higher than workers across the country.
-
More Hall Countians are concerned about water and air quality now
than in 1998. 34% said water was clean five years ago, compared to 27%
now. 38% said air quality was very clean five years ago compared with
25% in 2003.
>>Next:
Overview of Hall County
from 2003 Census |
INSIDE
THE
HEALTHY HALL
HIGHLIGHT REPORT: |
