Posted 12/14/2006

South Carolina is 48th in annual state health rankings for 2006, dropping from 46th last year

South Carolina ranks 48^th in state health rankings for 2006, coming in ahead of only Mississippi and Louisiana in an annual report released earlier this month. 

The report by United Health Foundation, an independent, not-for-profit foundation funded by the health care company UnitedHealth Group, said Americans overall are only slightly healthier (0.3 percent) than they were a year ago. 

The health status of South Carolinians did not reflect the modest positive trends at the national level, with the Palmetto State dropping in rank from 46^th place in the 2005 report.

The annual rankings are based on health determinants and outcomes, with determinants representing factors such as personal behaviors, the environment people live and work in, decisions by public and elected officials, and the quality of medical care delivered by health care professionals.

Examples of specific determinants include smoking, motor vehicle deaths, high school graduation rates, children in poverty, access to care, and incidence of preventable disease.

HEALTH OUTCOMES

Health outcomes, as presented in the report, represent factors relevant to both quantity and quality of life.  Specific outcomes used in the report address mortality statistics, as well as measures of mental and physical health status.

Dr. Reed Tuckson, senior vice president of the United Health Foundation, called the report a "call to action for all of us" to make the nation healthier.

"We can do better and our children deserve better," he said.

Minnesota, which has held the top spot in 11 of the 17 years of the study, was cited as the nation’s healthiest state. Vermont was second on the list, followed by New Hampshire, Hawaii and Connecticut.

At the other end, the report listed Louisiana as the least-healthy state, followed by Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas.  The southeastern U.S. is represented by 8 of the 10 least healthy states.

Among the indicators that contributed to South Carolina’s position were:

·         Low high school graduation rate: 59.7 percent of incoming ninth graders graduate within four years, rank 50;

·         High violent crime rate: 761 offenses per 100,000 population, rank 50.

·         High prevalence of obesity: 29.1 percent of population, rank 47.

·         High infant mortality rate: 8.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, rank 46.

·         High incidence of motor vehicle deaths: 2.2 per 100,000,000 miles driven, rank 47.

On a positive note, the report said the state has a high per capita health spending at $219 per person and moderate access to adequate prenatal care with 70.5 percent of pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care.

Dean Donna Richter of USC’s Arnold School of Public Health echoed the positive sentiment in highlighting the fact that South Carolina does have a strong and centralized public health system.  “Strides are being made in important areas such as teen pregnancy prevention, an area not highlighted by the report,” said Richter. 

HARD WORK AHEAD

“However, continuing to improve the health of South Carolinians will require hard and ongoing work across state agencies, state government, the private sector and academia.  It will also require further engagement with key community partners at the local level,” added Richter.

“We must also challenge ourselves to examine the overall social context in which our citizens live, paying particular attention to issues of social injustice that keep many of our fellow South Carolinians from achieving and maintaining good health,” Richter concluded.

Nationally, the level of improvement in health as measured by the report has been nearly flat since 2000, averaging only 0.3 percent a year, compared to an average increase of 1.5 percent a year from 1990 to 2000.

The United Health Foundation said factors contributing to the slowed growth include tobacco use, infant mortality, and increasing obesity. The report also found that the percentage of uninsured Americans has increased from 13.4 percent in 1990 to 15.9 percent today.

The report also notes that the potential for optimal healthiness in the United States has not yet been achieved. Compared with other nations, the United States lags behind in several important indicators of overall health. For example, a baby girl born today in the United States can expect to live 71 healthy, active years; while a baby girl born today in Japan can expect to live 78 healthy, active years.

MOVEMENT IN RANKINGS

The report’s state-by-state analysis shows Illinois with the highest overall health improvement since last year (a 2.8 percent increase). Next are Ohio, with a 2.6 percent jump; Wisconsin, with a 2.3 percent increase; and Kansas, with a 2.1 percent rise. States with the greatest decline in overall health include New Mexico, which dropped 4.2 percent; Idaho, which declined by 3.9 percent; and West Virginia, which dropped 3.5 percent.

The report noted that 35 other nations have infant survival rates that are better than or equal to that of the United States. Our rate of 6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births is double that of Japan, Sweden, Finland, Monaco and San Marino. Countries such as the Czech Republic, France, Germany and Spain also have better rates of infant survival.

The report was produced in partnership with the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention.

To view the entire report, please visit

www.americashealthrankings.org or
www.unitedhealthfoundation.org