from the desk of Ted Duboise
Press Release from America’s Health Rankings: 2008
Despite record spending for prescription drugs and healthcare, America’s overall health has not improved for four consecutive years. These findings were in a report, released Dec. 3rd, 2008, entitled “America’s Health Rankings“, developed by a partnership between the United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association, and Partnership for Prevention.
U.S. Lags Behind Other Nations on Health Outcomes
The United States currently falls behind 27 other countries in terms of a healthy life expectancy with an average of 69 years, while Japan leads all countries with an average of 75 years. Some of these differences can be attributed to the inability of the United States to effectively treat disease. The United States has the worst mortality rate from treatable conditions when compared to 18 other industrialized countries. The U.S. has fallen four spots in the last five years.
Results from a UNICEF study found the United States is second to last among 21 developed nations for child well-being as the result of high infant mortality rates, a high percentage of low-birth-weight infants, and an average rate of immunizations. In addition, the United States is last in health care system performance when compared to Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Despite spending twice as much as these countries on a per-capita basis, the U.S. is last on dimensions of access, patient safety, efficiency, and equity.
“These statistics indicate that what we are doing as a nation is not working”, said Georges C. Benjamin, M.D., executive director of American Public Health Association. “We know improvement is possible because other nations have achieved far better health outcomes at less cost, indicating that we, too, can do the same. The solution is to build a foundation for health by creating a culture of wellness and prevention. It is no longer acceptable to simply focus on treatment and cures”.
Three Most Critical Challenges
According to the report, the three most critical challenges facing America are smoking, obesity, and being uninsured. Significant reductions in the prevalence of smoking have not occurred since the early 1990s and have virtually stalled in the last four years. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the adverse health effects from smoking account for an estimated one out of every five deaths each year in the United States.
The prevalence of obesity has more than doubled in the last 19 years. An alarming one in four Americans is currently considered obese putting them at increased risk for health issues such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer (endometrial, breast, colon, and gallbladder).
Nearly 46 million Americans are currently uninsured, leaving them without adequate medical care for chronic conditions or preventive treatment that would help reduce future illnesses.
