The 5th Congressional District, which includes Floyd County, has been named the most unhappy district in the nation, based on the results of a recent survey.

The results of the survey, known as the Well-Being Index, are broken down in five categories, including work quality, basic access, healthy behavior, physical health and emotional health.

According to the results, the 5th District comes in last out of 435th districts nationwide in physical health and emotional health, 433rd in healthy behavior, 411th in basic access and 162nd in work quality.

For physical health, the information gathered included the estimates of body mass index, disease burden, sick days, physical pain, daily energy, history of disease and daily health experiences.

Emotional health included the daily experience of those who responded, including smiling or laughter, being treated with respect, enjoyment, happiness, worry, sadness, anger, stress and learning or doing something interesting.

Healthy behavior included items measuring lifestyle habits with established relationships to health outcomes. The index is based on items relating to smoking, a healthy diet and exercise.

The basic access section of the report measures the access of those responding to the poll in terms of food, shelter, health care and a safe and satisfying place to live.

Work quality, where the 5th District responded most positively, surveyed workers to find out if they were satisfied with their job and the work they do, if they get to use their strengths on the job, if their supervisor treats them more like a boss or partner and if the environment is trusting and open.

The 5th District made an appearance on national television as part of the “Doctor Oz Show” hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz. On the show, Oz cited Hazard as the unhappiest city in the country. However, it is the district as a whole that was named in the survey, not a specific city.

As a state, Kentucky was listed as 49th out of 50, with West Virginia coming in last in terms of well-being.

The survey was conducted by Gallup, Healthways and America’s Health Insurance Plans. The Well-Being Index is an ongoing daily survey that began in January 2008. The survey includes the responses of 1,000 Americans 350 days per year.

According to information provided by America’s Health Insurance Plans, the Well-Being Index will “increase an understanding of how those factors impact the financial health of our nation and its communities. The Well-Being Index is a powerful behavioral economics tool. It will assist national, state and community leasers, as well as policy makers and employers to make smart resource allocation decisions for the health and well-being of millions of people and the financial health of the nation.”

To view the results of the survey, visit http://www.ahiphiwire.org.