Well-being is a complex, multifaceted, and multilayered concept. There are many different approaches to defining and measuring well-being, and the focus and terminology used to describe these measures vary. Concepts that fall within the category of well-being include psychological wellbeing, emotional well-being, quality of life, health-related quality of life, psychosocial functioning, thriving, flourishing, happiness, satisfaction, and others.

Life expectancy is one of those measures.  It is also a proxy measure for the total health of a population. Disparities in life expectancy between populations point to where issues of health equity must be addressed. 2022 NC SHIP, pg. 116.

Participants in the 2021 NC SHIP Community Council Meeting and Symposia discussed the following:

• “It is difficult to focus on just a few programs because many programs/initiatives/policies impact the result we want. Life expectancy is just one measure.”

• “We should examine the way we look at this measure.  Living a long time and being healthy can be quite independent of each other.”

• “We need help in figuring out how to deal with small numbers.”

• “We should consider bringing in statisticians who can assist with data modeling and impute data to get more precise estimates.”

• “We need to streamline the process of obtaining data.”

Several participants recognized this indicator as an opportunity to focus on community priorities identified by partnering agencies and organizations.  Two areas of interest were brain health and radon exposure.  Brain health was further linked to hearing loss and falls prevention.

2022 NC SHIP, pg. 118

• Increase access to health insurance

NC State Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistics

• Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on life expectancy
• Continuing impact of opioid epidemic on life expectancy
• Continuing impact of infant mortality on life expectancy