Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is 25^th this year; it was 24^th in 2003. Its strengths include strong support for public health with $98 spent per person on public health, a low occupational fatalities rate at 4.0 deaths per 100,000 workers, a high rate of high school graduation with 77.1 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years and a low rate of uninsured population at 11.4 percent. Challenges include a high prevalence of smoking at 25.4 percent of the population and low access to adequate prenatal care with 71.8 percent of pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care. Access to adequate prenatal care shows health disparities within the state, with 57.2 percent of pregnant black women receiving adequate care compared to 74.4 percent of pregnant white women. Pennsylvania is 21^st for the combined measures of risk factors, higher than its 31^st for the combined measures of outcomes. This indicates that, with continued emphasis on improving the risk factors, the state may improve its relative healthiness in future years.

In the past year, the high school graduation rate increased from 75.3 percent to 77.1 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years, and the incidence of infectious disease increased from 21.7 to 26.1 cases per 100,000 population.

Since 1990, the infant mortality rate has decreased from 10.3 to 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, the rate of uninsured population has increased from 7.7 percent to 11.4 percent and the prevalence of smoking has declined from 29.3 percent to 25.4 percent of the population, a slower decline than other states.

To learn more about health and health initiatives in Pennsylvania, visit the Pennsylvania state department of health Web site at: www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/

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