MS: Mapping project highlights gaps in health outcomes

Daily Journal: Mississippi's Oktibbeha and Sunflower counties are only separated by a little more than a two-hour drive.

But an analysis of mortality data showed that babies born in Oktibbeha County are expected to live an average of seven years longer than babies born in Sunflower County.

“Where you live influences your health,” said Derek Chapman, the associate director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Society and Health that has computed the life expectancies in 21 cities and regions as part of a project to measure the real impact of health disparities. In places like Richmond, Virginia, researchers found 20-year differences between neighborhoods.

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