Overview

America’s Health Rankings® was built upon the World Health Organization definition of health:

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Our model reflects that determinants of health directly influence health outcomes, with determinants accounting for three-quarters and outcomes accounting for one-quarter of each state’s overall score and ranking. Four categories of determinants are included in our model of health: Behaviors, Community & Environment, Policy and Clinical Care.