The full, 700-page document provides an in-depth look at health indicators like obesity, dental care, smoking and heart health. You can download this document or portions of it by clicking on the links at right.

In addition, a 13-page public report that highlights some key areas of concern will appear as an insert in the Reading Eagle on November 9.

The Community Foundation conducted the study to determine the health issues that affect Berks County residents in order to make grants from the Community General Hospital Healthcare Fund to address those issues.

For example, the study found that only 59% of Reading's residents have visited a dentist or a dental clinic in the past year compared to 78% of individuals living in suburban or rural Berks County. For the United States, the percentage of those who visited a dentist or a dental clinic in the past year was 71%.

To address this issue, The Community General Hospital Healthcare Fund has made grants available over a three-year period for programs that help Reading residents gain access to dental care.

"There were several areas of concern in the health study, one of which was the disparity in the level of dental care for Reading's residents," said Kevin K. Murphy, Community Foundation president. "By making this funding available, we hope that local agencies will create long-term programs that increase the number of Reading residents who are receiving dental care regularly."

Another area of concern was the number of Berks County residents who are unaware that they have a weight problem. While state statistics put the percentage of Berks County residents who are overweight at 62%, the survey showed that residents consider themselves overweight at a much lower rate, a mere 39.4%.

To compound the issue, according to the study Berks County residents are less likely to exercise than those in surrounding counties and often report they have no place to go for free exercise.

To address this issue, the Community Foundation has released grant funding for programs that help Berks County's children increase their level of exercise and reduce their level of obesity.

"By helping children get active and eat healthy foods we hope we can start to change the dynamic in whole families over time," Murphy said. "By making this funding available, we hope that local nonprofit agencies and school districts will create long-term programs that increase the number of Berks County children who exercise regularly and eat well."

Finally, the Community Foundation is seeking proposals from research consultants to study the feasibility of creating a countywide health department, an organization that would be charged with addressing Berks County's community wide health challenges in the future. Currently five Pennsylvania counties and five Pennsylvania cities have their own health departments. They include Bucks, Chester and Montgomery counties and Allentown, Bethlehem and Philadelphia.

Full Report (764 pages, 5.1 megabyte file - this will take a while to download if you have high-speed and is probably prohibitive if you have dial-up)

Executive Summary (60 pages highlight report findings)

Public Report (16 page document appeared in the Nov. 9th edition of the Reading Eagle

Full Report Sections:

Acknowledgements and Table of Contents (7 pages)

Background and Methodology (8 pages)

Key Issues (46 pages)

Health in General (16 pages)

Mental Health (15 pages)

Hypertension and Cholesterol Awareness (50 pages)

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (10 pages)

Chronic Illnesses (14 pages)

Diabetes (21 pages)

Heart Disease (20 pages)

Asthma (30 pages)

Severe Allergies (30 pages)

Arthritis or Rheumatism (30 pages)

Cancer (20 pages)

Health Insurance and Medical Coverage (110 pages)

Providers, Prescriptions and Treatment (20 pages)

Routine Medical Care (15 pages)

Utilization (15 pages)

Dental Care (30 pages)

Issues Related to Language Other Than English (15 pages)

Food and Nutrition (15 pages)

Exercise and Obesity (30 pages)

Smoking (40 pages)

Drug & Alcohol Use (25 pages)

Violence at Home (20 pages)

Household Profile and Demographics (89 pages)

Appendix A: Survey Instrument (12 pages)

Works Cited (1 page)