In 2020, life expectancy in Wisconsin dropped by 1.6 years, a trend reflected across the whole United States, where life expectancy dropped .9 years, according to the CDC. Though COVID-19 was a contributing factor to the decrease in life expectancy in Wisconsin, there are many other problems that add to the issue, primarily opioid and alcohol related deaths in addition to racial and economic disparities in healthcare.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum identified that death rates from drug and alcohol use have tripled since 1999. Alcohol abuse is common across the state, with about 24.5% of Wisconsin adults reporting they regularly drink heavily. The drug usage rate in Wisconsin has quadrupled since 1999 and opioid abuse was particularly prominent in Milwaukee County.
The Policy Forum also identified that the opioid death rate in Milwaukee County is twice that of the state opioid death rate. Additionally, Black Wisconsinites have double the opioid death rate in comparison to the national average for Black individuals.
These statistics clearly represent the troubling racial disparities in healthcare. Since the beginning of the practice of medicine in the U.S. and Wisconsin, marginalized groups have had a more difficult time accessing healthcare than white individuals.
In the United States, Black and Hispanic individuals are less likely to receive consistent healthcare and are more likely to receive care in emergency rooms than white individuals. Black men are more likely to die due to cancer in America than white men. White women are more likely to develop breast cancer but Black women are more likely than white women to die from it. The infant mortality rate is 2.5 times higher for Black babies than white babies.
According to the National Academy of Medicine, people of color receive worse quality treatments than white individuals regardless of other factors like age, income, insurance or condition. These disparities are a result of systemic issues built into the healthcare system in America.
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The most prominent of these systemic issues in healthcare is implicit bias. In a study performed by the School of Social Work, most healthcare providers have a low to moderate implicit bias against people of color. This includes implicitly having more positive attitudes related to white individuals and negative attitudes associated with people of color, particularly in relation to “patient–provider interactions, treatment decisions, treatment adherence, and patient health outcomes.”
Essentially, this means that when a person of a non-white racial or ethnic background receives healthcare, for reasons completely out of their control, that care will be lower quality than when a white person with the same problem receives care.
The COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020 and has killed over 6 million people worldwide. But while sickness from COVID-19 was a large factor for decreased life expectancy, the mental health toll from the pandemic is also to blame.
Coping with depression is extremely difficult, even more so during a time of global turmoil. The World Health Organization identified that loneliness, inability to engage with family or friends, grief, financial difficulties and a general fear of COVID-19 contributed greatly to increases in mental health issues worldwide.
There was a national increase in depression across the United States during the pandemic. The Center for Disease Control reported that 31% of American adults reported experiencing anxiety or depression symptoms, 26% reported trauma disorder symptoms and 11% seriously considered suicide. Many turned to drugs and alcohol, contributing to 100,000 drug overdoses in the U.S. from April 2020 to April 2021 alone.
When ignored, mental health issues can be just as dangerous as any physical ailments. In fact, untreated mental health issues can manifest into chronic aches or pain and stress induced by mental illness can result in heart attacks and strokes.
Additionally, Wisconsin has insufficient mental health access. 55 out of 72 counties in Wisconsin have a shortage in psychiatrists, 37 counties have less than 1 psychiatrists per 30,000 people the Wisconsin Policy Forum identifies. This means that individuals who struggle with mental health in those Wisconsin counties are not able to receive the help that they need.
The mental health crisis during the pandemic represents a major factor in the decrease in life expectancy in Wisconsin.
In all, the lack of access to adequate healthcare (both mental and physical) is the most important factor contributing to the decrease in life expectancy across Wisconsin.
Coupled with research on healthcare disparities, life expectancy trends reveal that social services and health resources are not accessible enough across most of Wisconsin. Access to health resources is not only important for screening diseases like cancer or heart disease but also for preventing deaths from the flu, COVID-19 and even suicide.
Several changes are needed in Wisconsin to improve life expectancies in these vulnerable communities.
First, healthcare must be more affordable. This includes passing state or federal healthcare bills to make insurance, treatments and medications less expensive so people experiencing poverty have access to proper aid.
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Improving healthcare accessibility also involves increasing health screenings to those who need it. For example, eligibility for cancer screenings opened up for those who are 50 years or older and smoked around 20 packs a year. Previously, screenings were only for those 55 years and older who smoked at least 30 packs in a year. Expanding screening guidelines can help catch earlier cases of cancer or heart disease to begin treatment sooner.
A second step is to improve the quality of hospitals and healthcare staff, particularly in at-risk areas. Because of the pandemic, healthcare workers are incredibly overworked, overwhelmed and understaffed. These problems have persisted despite the greater control over the COVID-19 pandemic. Improving conditions for healthcare workers would also increase the quality of care received by patients.
Lastly, mental health resources should be more widely available and promoted in at-risk communities. Therapists as well as rehabilitation groups like Alcoholics Anonymous or Opioids Anonymous are resources that tend to be undervalued within the healthcare industry but can save lives just as effectively as physical treatment.
Dane County in particular has resources for those struggling with mental or physical health problems such as Journey Mental Health Center, the National Alliance on Mental Illness Dane County, the Minority Health Program and Public Health Madison & Dane County.
Though the COVID-19 pandemic is partially to blame for a decrease in life expectancy across Wisconsin and nationally, the issue is much deeper, created by a culmination of structural problems within the healthcare system. But, if physical and mental care becomes more accessible, Wisconsin may have the ability to increase life expectancy once again.
Emily Otten ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism.
