America's Health: State Health Rankings - 2004 Edition
Intro and Findings
  
Components
  
State Snapshots
  
Methodology
  
Commentaries and Special Features
Foreword and Introduction   Selection of Components   State by State Snapshots   Methodology   Letter from Director of The Centers for Disease Control
Measures of Success   Combined Measures:
 Risk Factors/Outcomes		   All State Summaries   Weighting of Components   The State of Infant Health: Is There Trouble Ahead
2004 Results    
Appendices
   The Obesity Epidemic: A Call to Action
Changes from 2003, 1990   Risk Factors    Occupational Fatalities   Index of Tables   Eliminating Health Disparities
Comparison to Other Nations   Outcomes    Health Disparity       Getting Involved: Your Responsibility

Nebraska

Nebraska is 12th this year; it was 16th in 2003. Strengths include a high rate of high school graduation with 80.0 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years, a low percentage of children in poverty at 11.0 percent of persons under age 18, a low number of limited activity days per month at 1.6 days in the previous 30 days and a low incidence of infectious disease at 9.3 cases per 100,000 population. Challenges include a high occupational fatalities rate at 8.2 deaths per 100,000 workers, moderate access to adequate prenatal care with 74.6 percent of pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care and an above average prevalence of obesity at 23.9 percent of the population. Nebraska is 13th for the combined measures of risk factors and 12th for the combined measures of outcomes, indicating that the relative healthiness of the state will likely remain steady in the future. Differences among races in access to adequate prenatal care and premature death rates indicate that there are strong disparities in health within the state. Less than 60 percent of pregnant black women and American Indian women receive adequate prenatal care compared to over 75 percent of pregnant white women.

In the past year, the percentage of children in poverty decreased from 13.5 percent to 11.0 percent of persons under age 18, and the infant mortality rate declined from 7.0 to 6.3 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Since 1990, access to adequate prenatal care has decreased from 76.8 percent to 74.6 percent of pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care, the prevalence of obesity has increased from 11.6 percent to 23.9 percent of the population and the prevalence of smoking has declined much slower than in other states, from 24.9 percent to 21.2 percent of the population.

To learn more about health and health initiatives in Nebraska, visit the Nebraska state department of health Web site at: www.hhs.state.ne.us/

Nebraska graph Download this state report as a PDF file 		 
Rankings
Measurement Data
2004
2003
1990
2004
2003
1990
Risk Factors - Personal Behaviors
      
18
22
3
 Prevalence of Smoking (Percent of population)
21.2
22.7
24.9
27
28
8
 Motor Vehicle Deaths (Deaths per 100,000,000 miles driven)
1.6
1.7
1.9
33
32
23
 Prevalence of Obesity (Percent of population)
23.9
23.2
11.6
6
6
4
 High School Graduation (Percent of incoming ninth graders)
80.0
80.0
86.7
Risk Factors - Community Environment
      
19
16
12
 Violent Crime (Offenses per 100,000 population)
314
304
252
15
9
16
 Lack of Health Insurance (Percent without health insurance)
11.3
10.2
10.0
11
11
4
 Infectious Disease (Cases per 100,000 population)
9.3
10.2
11.6
6
23
5
 Children in Poverty (percent of persons under age 18)
11.0
13.5
11.3
44
43
36
 Occupational Fatalities (Deaths per 100,000 workers)
8.2
7.4
11.7*
Risk Factors - Health Policies
      
18
15
-
 Percent of Health Dollars for Public Health (Percent of health exp.)
7.2
6.3
-
16
14
-
 Per Capita Public Health Spending ($ per person)
$74
$55
-
30
30
7
 Adequacy of Prenatal Care (Percent of pregnant women)
74.6
74.4
76.8
Outcomes
      
5
7
7
 Limited Activity Days (Days in last 30 days)
1.6
1.6
2.7*
14
19
16
 Cardiovascular Deaths (Deaths per 100,000 population)
304.6
317.5
377.6
12
12
13
 Cancer Deaths (Deaths per 100,000 population)
196.1
194.0
189.2
20
20
12
 Total Mortality (Deaths per 100,000 population)
826.7
835.2
829.0
19
26
17
 Infant Mortality (Deaths per 1,000 live births)
6.3
7.0
9.3
14
12
10
 Premature Death (Years lost per 100,000 population)
6,491
6,480
7,307
12
16
4
Overall
11.7
10.3
17.4

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