Healthy Lifestyles

Jump to another page... Introduction Leisure Time Physical Activity Healthy Body weight Fruit Consumption Vegetable Consumption Use of Food Labels Smoking Use of Safety Belts Use of Child Safety Seats Health Insurance Coverage Routine Annual Medical Checkups Regular Dental Checkups Health Status Direct Care Physicians to Population Ratio Primary Care Physician to Population Ratio General Practice Dentists to Population Ratio

Health status

Eighty percent of Texans surveyed in the BRFSS indicated feeling they had a good, very good, or excellent health status. The rate reported by Bexar County in 2002 was slightly higher at 83 percent, representing a marginal decrease from the 87 percent reported in 1998.

Positive health status was reported more frequently in the northern part of the county with the highest percentage being 85 percent in the Northeast sector. The southern part of the county reported lower rates of good, very good and excellent health status with the lowest rate of 75 percent reported in the East and West sectors. The South is somewhat higher with 82 percent reporting good health. All sectors in the northern part of the county have reports of good health in the 85 to 87 percent range.

Direct care physician to population ratio

One component of a healthy lifestyle is regular physical exams by a physician. Access to physician services is required for residents to utilize these services. In 2004, there were 2,748 direct care physicians in Bexar County and the ratio of direct care physician to the population per 100,000 is 184. The trend data shows that this rate is constant over the last 12 years for the state and for the Harris and Bexar Counties. The distribution of physicians within Bexar County is skewed to the sectors in the north of the county, 72 percent of physicians in Bexar County practice in the north, one-half of these are located near the South Texas Medical Center in the East Northwest area. An additional 16 percent have offices in the Central (downtown) area. The remaining 12 percent of physicians practice in the southern part of the county. Health insurance coverage helps provide access to health care services. An estimated 24.6 percent of the Texas population, or 5.4 million persons, were uninsured in 2004. In San Antonio it is estimated that 24.3 percent or 363,033 residents of the county are uninsured.

Primary care physician to population ratio

Physicians who work in family practice, internal medicine, pediatric, obstetric, gynecological, and geriatric practices provide primary care services. Primary care physicians are the first line of care for most people. In 2004 there were 1,106 direct primary care physicians in Bexar County. This represents a ratio of 74 direct primary care physician to 100,000 people. Trend data shows that this rate is constant over the last 12 years for the state and for the Harris and Bexar Counties. Sixty-four percent of physicians in Bexar County practice in the north, 41 percent of these are located near the South Texas Medical Center in the East Northwest area. An additional 16 percent have offices in the central (downtown) area. The remaining 20 percent of physicians have practices in the southern part of the county where 41 percent of the population resides.

General practice dentists to population ratio

The need for oral health care is often overlooked as an important part of a health service plan. The ratio of direct care dentist to the population per 100,000 in the year 2004 is 40 for the Bexar County with 597 dentists practicing general dentistry. Data from the last 12 years shows that these rates are fairly constant for the Texas State and for the Harris and Bexar Counties. The distribution of dentists within Bexar County is skewed to the sectors in the north of the county, 76 percent of general practice dentists in Bexar County practice in the north, 24 percent of these are located near the South Texas Medical Center in the East Northwest area. Twenty-four percent of private practice dentists have primary offices in the southern part of the county. The distribution in the South Texas Medical Center and Downtown areas is not as concentrated as physicians but 60 percent of dentist practice in the Northwest and Central areas.

Making healthcare available to low income and uninsured populations plays an important role in community health. Large segments of the southern part of Bexar County have been declared health professions shortage areas and Medically Underserved Areas by federal programs designed to increase access to health services.