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<br /> <br />Durham 15th, Orange 2nd in N.C. health <br />rankings <br /> Keith Upchurch <br /> March 17, 2016 <br /> DURHAM -- Durham ranked 15th in health among North Carolina's 100 counties and Orange County <br />ranked second in an annual report released Wednesday. <br /> <br />Durham County dipped from 11th to 15th healthiest, according to the seventh-annual County Health <br />Rankings by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health <br />Institute. <br /> <br />Although Durham County's overall ranking for 2016 dipped slightly, the county has consistently ranked <br />in the top 25 percent of counties in North Carolina, placing eighth in 2012 and 17th in 2013 and 2014. <br />Gayle Harris, director of the Durham County Department of Public Health, said building a healthy <br />community "is not an overnight process." <br /> <br />"Highs and lows are to be expected, as we transform our community," Harris said. "Although we have <br />made strides in many areas, some, such as child poverty and income inequality, are much more complex <br />and take years, if not a generation, to turn around." <br /> <br />Harris said Durham's health "goes far deeper than having world-class health care in our backyard. <br />Affordable housing, education, and income equality significantly impact overall health as well." <br />Harris said organizations including the Partnership for a Healthy Durham and annual meetings such as <br />the Duke-Durham Health Summit work to identify and tackle health problems. <br /> <br />Here are some of the study's findings for Durham County compared to North Carolina as a whole: <br />-- Premature deaths: 6,200 per 100,000 population compared to 7,200 statewide. <br />-- Access to exercise opportunities: 91 percent vs. 71 percent. <br />-- Children in poverty: 22 percent vs. 24 percent. <br />-- Children in single-parent households: 42 percent vs. 36 percent. <br />-- Uninsured: 18 percent vs. 18 percent. <br />-- Diabetic monitoring: 91 percent vs. 89 percent. <br />-- Violent crime: 648 per 100,000 population vs. 355 per 100,000 population statewide.. <br />-- Severe housing problems: 19 percent vs. 17 percent. <br /> <br />The study cited the following "areas of strength" in Durham: <br />-- Mammography screening: 67 percent. <br />-- Unemployment: 5 percent.