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Show Snapshots of Utah Health Indicators F. Marian Bishop, Ph.D., M.S.P.H. Department of Family and Preventive Medicine University of Utah Introduction Frequently, the fifty states of the United States of America are compared with one another according to various health indicators. It is not unusual to have to search for this information in multiple references and pages of statistics. In an attempt to short cut this process and develop a snapshot of the State of Utah, sixty-three pages of information relative to 17 indicators for the fifty states have been analyzed and reduced to snapshots that are descriptive of Utah. The source of this information is the 12th edition of America's Health Foundation: United Health State Health Rankings 2001 (United Health Foundation, 2001) that is prepared in partnership with the American Public Health Association and the Partnership for Prevention. Though the information presented in these snapshots comes from the United Health Foundation State Rankings, the United Health Foundation relies on other primary sources. The uniqueness of this presentation for Utah's Health: An Annual Review is that the information specific to the State of Utah is easily referenced. The United Health Foundation creates rankings based upon the average health of the fifty states for that year. The criteria selected to evaluate each state's health ranking are common health measurements and are representative of a broad range of issues that affect a population's health. In addition, the data is readily available at the state level, is current, and is updated periodically. The snapshots are clustered into five categories to provide a total of 17 components. The five categories include lifestyle, access to health care, occupational safety and disability, disease, and mortality. Each category will be presented with 1. a definition, 2. the Utah ranking, 3. the first and the 50th ranked states, and 4. the United States national statistic when available. I. Lifestyle Five components reflect the population's lifestyle and its impact on health: prevalence of smoking, motor vehicle deaths, violent crime, risk of heart disease, and high school graduation. These components attempt to measure both positive and negative behaviors that have an immediate or delayed effect on health. Based on 2001 lifestyle results, Vermont, Utah, Minnesota, and North Dakota rank the highest, whereas South Carolina, Louisiana, Florida and Tennessee rank the lowest. 1. Prevalence of Smoking Measures the percent of the population over the age of 18 that smokes tobacco products regularly. The information is obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data measure the percentage of the population that has smoked at least 100 cigarettes and currently smokes regularly. Smoking has an adverse impact on overall health by causing increased cases of respiratory diseases, cancer, and other illnesses. It is a lifestyle behavior that an individual can directly influence. Utah 1 12.9% of population smoking Kentucky 50 30.5% of population smoking United States - 23.2% of population smoking 108 Utah's Health: An Annual Review Volume VIII |
