ALASKA
Ranking:
Alaska is 30th this year; it was 31st in
2006.
Strengths:
Strengths
include a low rate of cardiovascular deaths at 253.6 deaths per
100,000 population, a low percentage of children in poverty at
11.6 percent of persons under age 18 and a low rate of preventable
hospitalizations with 58.2 discharges per 1,000 Medicare
enrollees.
Challenges:
Challenges include low immunization coverage with 73.5 percent of
children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunizations,
limited access to adequate prenatal care with 63.9 percent of
pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care, a high prevalence
of smoking at 24.9 percent of the population and a high violent
crime rate at 688 offenses per 100,000 population. Alaska ranks
lower for health determinants than for health outcomes, indicating
that overall healthiness may decline over time.
Significant
Changes:
↑ In the past
year, the incidence of infectious disease increased from 14.4 to
16.2 cases per 100,000 population.
↑ In the past
year, the violent crime rate increased from 632 to 688 offenses
per 100,000 population.
↓ In the past
year, the prevalence of obesity decreased from 27.4 percent to
26.2 percent of the population.
↑ Since 1990, the
prevalence of smoking declined from 34.3 percent to 24.0 percent
of the population.
Health
Disparities:
In Alaska, Other
Races experience 73 percent more premature death than whites and
56 percent more than blacks.
State Health
Department Web Site:
http://health.hss.state.ak.us/
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