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One of the benefits of a 17-year perspective on health is that success can be
viewed over time. During the past 17 years, this report has tracked our
nation’s 18.7 percent improvement in overall health. This national success
stems from improvements in the reduction of infant mortality, infectious
disease, prevalence of smoking, cardiovascular deaths, motor vehicle deaths,
violent crime, children in poverty and occupational fatalities and an increase
in immunization coverage and prenatal care. However, there are two measures in
which success has eluded the population as a whole, including a rapid increase
in the prevalence of obesity and an increase in the rate of uninsured population
(Table 1).
The United States experienced changes in the last year as well, but this
one-year change is not as dramatic as the changes experienced throughout the
17-year time span. Table 2 lists the successes and challenges over the last year.
Each state has addressed its health challenges with unique solutions, and each
state has achieved success in targeted areas. Table 3 depicts one component of this health profile in which each
state has been successful during the past year and a component in which it has
been successful during the past 17 years. Each state’s work to achieve these
successes is a testament to what is possible when all work together to attain
health goals.
Within states, organizations have also achieved success using specific targeted
interventions. Three approaches are described: 1) creating
a county-ranking system to disseminate information into local units of
government and stimulate county-level actions; 2) focusing and initiating a
state’s private, corporate and government healthiness programs on a single goal
– overall improvement of everyone’s health; and 3) using the current medical
association to drive health changes through the clinical care setting directly
to the public.
Table 1 - National
Measures of Successes and Challenges: 1990 to 2006
|
MEASURE |
LONG TERM CHANGES |
|
Successes |
|
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
40
percent decrease in the rate of motor vehicle deaths from 2.5 deaths in 1990
to 1.5 deaths per 100,000,000 miles driven in 2006. |
|
Infectious Disease |
45
percent decrease in the incidence of infectious disease from 40.7 cases in
1990 to 22.6 cases per 100,000 population in 2006. |
|
Infant Mortality |
35
percent decrease in the infant mortality rate from 10.2 deaths in 1990 to
6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2006. |
|
Prevalence of Smoking |
30 percent decline in
the prevalence of smoking from 29.5 percent in 1990 to 20.6 percent of the
population in 2006. |
|
Violent Crime |
23
percent decline in the violent crime rate from 609 offenses in 1990 to 469
offenses per 100,000 population in 2006. |
|
Cardiovascular Deaths |
20
percent decline in the rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease from 406.3
deaths in 1990 to 326.0 deaths per 100,000 population in 2006. |
|
Children in Poverty |
15
percent decline in the percentage of children in poverty from 20.6 percent
in 1990 to 17.6 percent of persons under age 18 in 2006. |
|
Occupational Fatalities |
44
percent decline in the occupational fatalities rate from 8.7 deaths in 1990
to 4.9 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2006. |
|
Immunization Coverage |
47 percent
increase in immunization coverage from 55.1 percent in 1996 to 80.8 percent
of
children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunizations
in 2006. |
|
Prenatal Care |
Approximately 10 percent improvement to 75.4
percent of pregnant women
receiving adequate prenatal care in 2006. |
|
Challenges |
|
Prevalence of Obesity |
110
percent increase in the prevalence of obesity from 11.6 percent in 1990 to
24.4 percent of the population in 2006. |
|
Lack
of Health Insurance |
19
percent increase in the rate of uninsured population from 13.4 percent in
1990 to 15.9 percent in 2006. |
Table 2 - National Measures of Successes
and Challenges: 2005 to 2006
|
MEASURE |
CHANGES FROM 2005 TO
2006 |
|
Successes |
|
High School
Graduation |
2 percent increase
from 72.6 percent to 73.9 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate
within four years. |
|
Infectious Disease |
8 percent decrease
in the incidence of infectious disease from 24.6 to 22.6 cases per
100,000 population. |
|
Cardiovascular
Deaths |
2 percent decline in
the rate of cardiovascular deaths from 332.9 deaths to 326.0 deaths per
100,000 population. |
|
Challenges |
|
Prevalence of
Obesity |
6 percent increase
in the prevalence of obesity from 23.1 percent to 24.4 percent of the
population. |
|
Occupational
Fatalities |
4 percent increase
in the occupational fatalities rate from 4.7 to 4.9 deaths per 100,000
workers. |
|
Violent Crime |
1 percent increase
in the violent crime rate from 463 to 469 offenses per 100,000
population. |
Table 3 - Examples
of State Successes
|
|
2005 TO 2006 |
1990 TO 2006 |
|
STATE |
MEASURE |
PERCENT IMPROVED |
MEASURE |
PERCENT IMPROVED |
|
Alabama |
High School Graduation |
4% |
Infectious Disease |
45% |
|
Alaska |
Infant Mortality |
12% |
Infant Mortality |
46% |
|
Arizona |
Infectious Disease |
5% |
Prevalence of Smoking |
32% |
|
Arkansas |
Children in Poverty |
15% |
Infectious Disease |
57% |
|
California |
Infectious Disease |
7% |
Infant Mortality |
43% |
|
Colorado |
Immunization Coverage |
8% |
Infectious Disease |
62% |
|
Connecticut |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
10% |
Prevalence of Smoking |
44% |
|
Delaware |
Prevalence of Smoking |
15% |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
46% |
|
Florida |
Infectious Disease |
9% |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
42% |
|
Georgia |
Infectious Disease |
12% |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
40% |
|
Hawaii |
Infectious Disease |
9% |
Children in Poverty |
52% |
|
Idaho |
Infectious Disease |
10% |
Infant Mortality |
38% |
|
Illinois |
Children in Poverty |
13% |
Infant Mortality |
41% |
|
Indiana |
Infectious Disease |
4% |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
48% |
|
Iowa |
Lack of Health Insurance |
9% |
Infant Mortality |
41% |
|
Kansas |
Prevalence of Smoking |
10% |
Prevalence of Smoking |
41% |
|
Kentucky |
Lack of Health Insurance |
11% |
Infectious Disease |
57% |
|
Louisiana |
Infectious Disease |
13% |
Children in Poverty |
36% |
|
Maine |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
15% |
Infectious Disease |
58% |
|
Maryland |
Infectious Disease |
9% |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
45% |
|
Massachusetts |
Lack of Health Insurance |
16% |
Infant Mortality |
40% |
|
Michigan |
Children in Poverty |
16% |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
50% |
|
Minnesota |
Lack of Health Insurance |
6% |
Children in Poverty |
53% |
|
Mississippi |
Infectious Disease |
13% |
Infant Mortality |
22% |
|
Missouri |
Infectious Disease |
24% |
Infant Mortality |
30% |
|
Montana |
Lack of Health Insurance |
9% |
Infant Mortality |
46% |
|
Nebraska |
Infectious Disease |
13% |
Infant Mortality |
33% |
|
Nevada |
Infectious Disease |
15% |
Prevalence of Smoking |
35% |
|
New
Hampshire |
Children in Poverty |
26% |
Infectious Disease |
48% |
|
New
Jersey |
Prevalence of Smoking |
4% |
Infant Mortality |
47% |
|
New
Mexico |
Infectious Disease |
15% |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
35% |
|
New
York |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
9% |
Violent Crime |
56% |
|
North
Carolina |
Infectious Disease |
13% |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
41% |
|
North
Dakota |
Infant Mortality |
7% |
Infectious Disease |
73% |
|
Ohio |
Prevalence of Smoking |
14% |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
45% |
|
Oklahoma |
Lack of Health Insurance |
8% |
Infectious Disease |
62% |
|
Oregon |
Infectious Disease |
12% |
Infant Mortality |
43% |
|
Pennsylvania |
Lack of Health Insurance |
12% |
Motor Vehicle Deaths |
38% |
|
Rhode
Island |
Infectious Disease |
7% |
Infant Mortality |
40% |
|
South
Carolina |
Infectious Disease |
9% |
Infant Mortality |
33% |
|
South
Dakota |
Children in Poverty |
14% |
Infectious Disease |
| |
