Study ranks Arkansas 44th for senior health and well being

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A national study has ranked Arkansas near the bottom for older adult health and well-being.

The United Health Foundation ranked the state 44th in its annual Senior Report. The study used 52 measures from 22 data sources to determine its ranking.

Arkansas faced “challenges,” in the study’s language, in several measures. The state has a high early death rate, a low percentage of houses with high-speed internet and a high prevalence of physical inactivity that brought its ranking down.

Other factors cited in the study were the 28% decrease in Arkansas home health care workers since 2017, despite the number of home health care workers increasing nationally.