 |
|
     |
|
 |
SPOTLIGHT ON RESOURCES
December always brings its
share of “Year in Review” lists — the
best, the worst and the most memorable. In keeping with this tradition,
this month’s Spotlight falls on a report that ranks the health
status of each state for 2003. “America’s Health: State Health
Rankings” is the 14th such report released by the United Health
Foundation, the American Public Health Association and the Partnership
for Prevention. The report uses data that track “the combination of personal behaviors and health decisions made by individuals, the social environment in which we work and live and the decisions made by public officials.” States receive their ranking based on statistics related to infant mortality, infectious disease, smoking prevalence, children in poverty, violent crime and health insurance coverage. The report strives to balance the good and bad news from each state, noting their public health successes as well as failures. Readers can click on the interactive Web version to get state-by-state snapshots and historical perspectives reaching back to 1990. Information on occupational fatalities, health disparities within states and traits shared by healthy communities are also included. In a related commentary, William J. Roper, dean of the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, outlines future challenges to improving public health. Increased funds, better accreditation and training and updates of public health law are among the necessary next steps, Roper says. To read the report, go to here. |
|
|||||
 |
|||||||
