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Show Education Education levels are important to understanding health status because increases in the level of formal education are associated with better health status in a population. A person with a higher level of formal education generally has increased awareness of health risks and healthy behavior, higher likelihood of finding employment which provides health insurance, and a greater opportunity of obtaining a higher income. Although a higher level of education cannot be said to lead directly to improved health care, all of these factors affect access and utilization of health care and can help contribute to a healthier population. For 1940 through 1990, Utah reported that a higher percentage of its population completed high school and college than did the U.S. population. During this period, however, the percentage of the U.S. population reaching these levels of educational attainment grew at a faster rate than the percentage of Utah residents achieving the same levels of education. Table 22 . % of Population 25+ Who Have Completed High School/College High School College Utah: U.S. Utah: U.S. Year Utah U.S. (Ratio) Utah U.S. (Ratio) 1940 19.8 14.3 1.38:1 6.2 4.6 1.35:1 1950 28.5 20.7 1.38:1 7.8 6.2 1.26:1 1960 55.8 41.1 1.36:1 10.2 7.7 1.32:1 1970 67.3 52.3 1.29:1 14.0 10.7 1.31:1 1980 80.0 66.5 1.20:1 19.9 16.2 1.23:1 1990 85.1 75.2 1.13:1 22.3 20.3 1.10:1 Table 22 . Source: Utah 1990: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1990 Census of Population and Housing. 1970 and 1980: Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research (1990). 1990 Statistical Abstract of Utah. Salt Lake City. p. 61. U.S. 1970-1990: 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. 82 |
