Abstract
We performed a health needs assessment for three Plain communities in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania from a random sample of households. Compared with the general population of adults, Plain respondents were more likely to be married, to have children, and they had large families; they were more likely to drink well water, to eat fruit and vegetables, to drink raw milk, and to live on a farm. Plain respondents had better physical and mental health and were less likely to have been diagnosed with various medical conditions compared with the general population of adults in Lancaster County but Old Order Mennonite respondents were more likely to have been diagnosed compared with Old Order Amish respondents. Plain respondents usually have a regular doctor and often receive preventive care but Old Order Mennonite respondents were more likely to have a regular doctor, to receive preventive care, to have had their children vaccinated, and to receive routine dental care compared with Old Order Amish respondents. Despite their relative geographic and genetic isolation, and despite the small, relative differences noted, the health of Plain communities in Lancaster County is similar to that of other adults in the County.
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Acknowledgments
This research was made possible by the generous support of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Dr. Holmes Morton, Dr. Kevin Strauss, Dr. Erik Puffenberger and Karlla Brigatti of the Clinic for Special Children. Varun Rajagopalan volunteered his time to help create the survey and we are grateful for his help. Dr. Rebecca Bascom and her group at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Anne Dimmock, Judie Howrylak, and Kristen Walters, engaged us in important discussions about asthma in the Plain community.
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This research was supported by an award to Franklin & Marshall College from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Undergraduate Science Education Program. Dlugi, Adams, Schulman, and Strauss were undergraduates at Franklin and Marshall College.
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Miller, K., Yost, B., Abbott, C. et al. Health Needs Assessment of Plain Populations in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. J Community Health 42, 35–42 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0223-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0223-5