DELAWARE
Ranking:
Delaware is 34th this year; it was 30th in
2006.
Strengths:
Strengths include high immunization coverage with 84.3 percent of
children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunizations,
high per capita public health spending at $246 per person and a
low percentage of children in poverty at 12.4 percent of persons
under age 18. Delaware ranks higher for health determinants than
for health outcomes, indicating that overall healthiness should
improve over time.
Challenges:
Challenges include a high infant mortality rate at 9.4 deaths per
1,000 live births, a high incidence of infectious disease at 31.7
cases per 100,000 population, a high violent crime rate at 682
offenses per 100,000 population and a high prevalence of binge
drinking at 19.0 percent of the population.
Significant
Changes:
↑ In the past
year, the prevalence of obesity increased from 23.5 percent to
26.0 percent of the population.
↓ In the past
year, the percentage of children in poverty decreased from 14.2
percent to 12.4 percent of persons under age 18.
↑ Since 1990,
the violent crime rate increased from 432 to 682 offenses per
100,000 population.
↑ Since 1990,
the rate of uninsured population increased from 9.1 percent to
12.1 percent.
Health
Disparities:
In Delaware,
Other Races experience 67 percent less premature death than
whites. Deaths from cancer are 22 percent more prevalent among
blacks than whites.
State Health
Department Web Site:
www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/
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