Alabama

Alabama is tied with West Virginia for 43^rd this year; it was also 43^rd in 2003. Strengths include strong support for public health with 7.3 percent of the state health budget allocated to public health, high access to adequate prenatal care with 77.8 percent of pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care and a moderate rate of uninsured population at 14.2 percent. Alabama's challenges include a high prevalence of obesity at 28.4 percent of the population, a high premature death rate with 9,814 years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population and a low high school graduation rate with 57.2 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years. Alabama is 39^th for the combined measures of risk factors and 47^th for the combined measures of outcomes, indicating that the state's relative healthiness may remain steady or improve in future years. Disparities in health outcomes are high in Alabama, as shown in the difference in premature death rates. Non-Hispanic blacks lose 14,215 years of potential life before age 75 per 100,000 population compared to Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders and American Indians who lose under 4,000 years per 100,000 population.

In the past year, the infant mortality rate declined from 9.4 to 8.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, the prevalence of smoking increased from 24.4 percent to 25.3 percent of the population and the rate of uninsured population increased from 12.7 percent to 14.2 percent.

Since 1990, access to adequate prenatal care has increased from 67.6 percent to 77.8 percent of pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care, and the prevalence of obesity has increased from 12.3 percent to 28.4 percent of the population.

To learn more about health and health initiatives in Alabama, visit the Alabama state department of health Web site at: www.adph.org

A dash (--) indicates data not available.
* Data sources and/or methdology may not be comparable for this year.