PENNSYLVANIA
Ranking:
Pennsylvania is 24th this year; it was 28th
in 2006.
Strengths:
Strengths include a high rate of high school graduation with 82.2
percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years,
a low rate of uninsured population at 10.0 percent of the
population and high immunization coverage with 84.6 percent of
children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunizations.
Pennsylvania ranks higher for health determinants than for health
outcomes, indicating that overall healthiness should improve over
time.
Challenges:
Challenges include a high prevalence of binge drinking at 16.6
percent of the population, a high prevalence of smoking at 21.5
percent of the population, a high rate of cancer deaths at 209.1
deaths per 100,000 population and a high rate of preventable
hospitalizations with 84.7 discharges per 1,000 Medicare
enrollees.
Significant
Changes:
↓ In the past
year, the prevalence of smoking decreased from 23.6 percent to
21.5 percent of the population.
↓ In the past
year, the incidence of infectious disease decreased from 21.8 to
18.4 cases per 100,000 population.
↑ Since 1990,
the prevalence of obesity increased from 12.5 percent to 24.0
percent of the population.
↓ Since 1990,
the prevalence of smoking decreased from 29.3 percent to 21.5
percent of the population.
Health
Disparities:
In
Pennsylvania, blacks experience 78 percent more premature death
than whites. Deaths from cancer in the state are 31 percent more
prevalent among blacks than whites. In the large metropolitan
areas, residents in the central counties experience 56 percent
more premature death than residents in the fringe counties.
State Health
Department Web Site:
www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/
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