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Show Table 6 Education Percentage of Population 25 and Older Who Have Completed: High School College Year Utah US Utah:US Utah US Utah:US Comparison Comparison 1970 67.3 52.3 1.29:1 14.0 10.7 1.31:1 1980 80.9 66.5 1.22:1 19.9 16.2 1.23:1 1990 85.1 77.6 1.10:1 22.3 21.3 1.05:1 Source: Utah -1970 and 1980: Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research. (1990). 1990 Statistical Abstract of Utah. Salt Lake City: Author, p. 61. 1990: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1990 Census of Population and Housing. VJS. - United States Bureau of the Census. (1992). Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1992 (112th ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, p. 143. Utahns have a higher percentage of the population completing high school and college than the nation (Table 6). Utah and the U.S. have shown a steady increase in the proportion of people completing both high school and college. The Utah:U.S. comparisons reveal that in 1970 1.31 Utahns completed college compared to one person nationally. This dropped to a ratio of 1.05:1 in 1990. Similarly, the ratio between Utah and the U.S. for high school completion was 1.29:1 in 1970, which also dropped to a ratio of 1.10:1 in 1990. As level of education increases, so does one's awareness of what constitutes healthy behaviors. Increased education also increases the likelihood of finding employment (which usually provides health insurance), and obtaining a higher income, both of which affect access to health care. Utah's Homeless1 There are limited comparative data available on the homeless situation in Utah and the nation. However, there are data that report the number of people in Utah's shelters, which increased from 355 in 1986 to 1,330 in 1992, a 275% increase. The fastest growing segment of the homeless population is families, contrary to the belief that the typical homeless person is mentally ill or an alcoholic male. These families are often headed by a single female. The number of homeless children increased 40% between 1991 and 1992. According to the article, domestic violence is frequently cited as a cause of homelessness in families with children.1 If current trends continue, within five years one-half of Utah's homeless will be children and their parents. Urban areas along the Wasatch Front contain the vast majority of homeless persons in Utah, and Whites account for 78% of that population. 1 Adapted from: Collin, Lois M. (1993, Jan. 29). Portrait of Utah's Homeless is Changing, Deseret News, p. B-l. Utah's Health: An Annual Review 1993 |