MASSACHUSETTS
Ranking:
Massachusetts is 9th this year; it was 7th
in 2006.
Strengths:
Massachusetts is among the top ten states on 11 of the 20
measures. Strengths include high immunization coverage with 86.9
percent of children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete
immunizations, a low occupational fatalities rate at 3.1 deaths
per 100,000 workers, a low prevalence of obesity at 20.3 percent
of the population and ready access to primary care, with 187.3
primary care physicians per 100,000 population.
Challenges:
Challenges include a high prevalence of binge drinking at 17.7
percent of the population, a high incidence of infectious disease
at 20.9 cases per 100,000 population, a high rate of preventable
hospitalizations with 79.9 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees
and a high violent crime rate at 447 offenses per 100,000
population.
Significant
Changes:
↑ In the past
year, the percentage of children in poverty increased from 11.6
percent to 13.6 percent of persons under age 18.
↑ In the past
year, the rate of uninsured population increased from 9.2 percent
to 10.4 percent.
↓ Since 1990,
the incidence of infectious disease declined from 36.9 to 20.9
cases per 100,000 population.
↓ Since 1990,
the prevalence of smoking decreased from 28.2 percent to 17.8
percent of the population.
Health
Disparities:
In
Massachusetts, Other Races experience 57 percent less premature
death than whites. In the large metropolitan areas, residents of
the central counties experience 35 percent more premature death
than residents in the fringe counties.
State Health
Department Web Site:
www.mass.gov/dph/
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