America's Health Rankings 2008

A new report came out about health state rankings. As we saw the first week of classes, when compared to the rest of the country, the following observed trends tend to hold true:

1. Overall, health indicators are worse in the South than other regions of the country
2. Overall, New England seems to be the healthiest region with Vermont holding the highest ranking in the country in terms of health
3. Infant mortality in the United States, which seems to be holding at 6.8/100,000, is the highest in the industrialized world. When broken down by ethnic background, tends to be worst among Blacks (13.5) than Whites (5.7) or Hispanics (5.6) (Source: CDC Health Data for All Ages 2000-2004)
4. Obesity rates in the US are also the highest in the industrialized world
5. Comparatively, for all these indicators, non-Hispanic Blacks tend to compare worse than Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites. In fact, in almost all measures, NHBs tend to have almost double whatever rates the other groups have. Talk about disparity!

The report has a clickable map of the US where you can view details of specific states. You can find the report here: America's Health Rankings 2008.

Infant Mortality Breakdown from the CDC:

Race/Ethnicity	All causes	Rate
All	685.7	6.9
White	572.7	5.7
Black	1351.4	13.5
American Indian/Alaska Native	860.5	8.6
Asian or Pacific Islander	475.5	4.8
Hispanic	560.3	5.6
Non-Hispanic	715.2	7.2
Non-Hispanic White	571.9	5.7
Non-Hispanic Black	1369.5	13.7

Maternal mortality in Sierra Leone

(Thank you Cassandra for sending this story)

From the Washington Post:

A Mother's Final Look at Life: In Impoverished Sierra Leone, Childbirth Carries Deadly Odds

Maternal mortality in Sierra Leone is one of the highest in Africa. For those of you who have watched the film Blood Diamond, you might remember that the country has experienced extreme poverty, ethnic conflict, and a civil war, which was made worse by the diamond industry.

The story recounts some women's experiences with trying to deliver where access to modern technology, trained physicians and health care professionals, and to hospitals is severely limited or non-existent. Ophtamologists, and poorly trained midwives are the only personnel who can provide any obstetrics care to the women.

UNICEF, CARE, and Catholic Charities have collaborated to fund 54 public health clinics staffed by one nurse each, around the country. Patients are indeed expected to pay for the services they receive, the drugs, and supplies, at the tune of $10 per vaginal delivery, and $70 for C-section. The article notes that:

Patients must pay for all the drugs and medical supplies used in the hospital, in addition to fees for delivery -- about $10 for a regular deliver, and $70 or more for a C-section. Some operations are delayed while husbands run out to buy rubber gloves for the surgeon.

"I'm worried about how I am going to pay this bill," said Barrie, 32, who said he earns less than $100 a month making jewelry in a local market.

Moreover, the clinics are not open 24 hours per day, so that when women go into labor, they must wait for the clinic to open. This makes complications all the more dangerous for the women and their babies.

This is another one of those examples where structural barriers directly impact women's health, and can, in extreme cases, be fatal.

The article has a very touching slideshow, which you can view by clicking on this link.

Here is the video that accompanies the article.