Research shows that teenage mothers may come from violent homes, single parent homes, have poor self-esteem, a history of depression, and a history of drug or alcohol abuse (Quinlivan, Tan, Steele & Black, 2004). The average teen mother is 17.5 years old. UNITED STATES birth rates are higher than any other country. $9 billion are spent annually on teen pregnancy. Florida alone had 354,000 teen births between 1991 and 2004, costing taxpayers $8.1 billion.
Black women in the District suffer from obesity, diabetes, heart disease and generally poor health in alarmingly high numbers, and white women do not. That is the finding of a study released early today by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The study said there is a large disparity in the incidence of certain chronic diseases between black and white women. Kaiser's study was based on data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal Current Population Survey from 2004 to 2006. The study reflected health statistics in the states and the District.
It has been estimated that approximately 35% of African-American families live at or near the poverty level. 33% of African American children have no working parent in the household. In addition, 62% of African-American adults who are parents are divorced, separated, widowed, or never married, as opposed to 33% of white adults; 58% of African-American births are to unmarried mothers as opposed to 11% of white births; and 28% of African-American births are to adolescents as opposed to 14% of white birth. Poverty, in combination with racism, discrimination, and poor self-esteem can have profound harmful effects for family functions and child and adolescent development. Poverty is most marked among African American single-parent families.
Nearly 47 million Americans, or 16 percent of the population, were without health insurance in 2005, the latest government data available (DeNavas-Walt). In 2005, nearly one in 20 people between the ages of 18 and 64 said they were unable to get necessary prescription drugs during the past 23 months due to cost (National Center for Health Statistics, 2007). National surveys show that the primary reason people are uninsured is the high cost of health insurance coverage (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Employee Benefits: 2007). Unfortunately, even the insured are feeling a burden of health care costs.
Haiti is only half of an island, the other half being the Dominican Republic, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and has a history of destructive earthquakes. Haiti is situated to the north of the Caribbean plate boundary, and the North American Plate. By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater on the Richter scale had been recorded. The US Geological Survey estimates that 3.5 million people lived in the area where 'moderate to heavy' damage occurred. The Haitian government estimates that 230,000 people died, about 300,000 were injured and 1 million were made homeless out of a population of 10 million.
Children born into homelessness are more likely to have low birth weights and are at greater risk of death. Homelessness also exposes infants to environmental factors that can endanger their health. Because homeless families often have little access to health care, many homeless infants lack essential immunizations. As of June 2008, there are more than 100,000 homeless children in Massachusetts. Out of these numbers 2,472 living in emergency shelter funded by the Ma Department of Transitional Assistance.
This chart demonstrates how disparity might impact different groups: From the HealthyPeople.gov website: • To better understand the context of disparities, it is important to understand more about the U.S. population. In 2008, the U.S. population was estimated at 304 million. • In 2008, approximately 33 percent, or more than 100 million persons, identified themselves as belonging to a racial or ethnic minority population. • In 2008, 51 percent, or 154 million, were women. • In 2008, approximately 12 percent, or 36 million people not living in nursing homes or other residential care facilities, had a disability.
Racial & Ethnic Disparties: Infant Mortality Rates Calculating & Reporting Healthcare Statistics Causes of disparties in Infant & Mortality rates In the U.S., statistics show that twice as many African American infants die each year when compared to white infants. Although over the past fifty years, infant mortality rates have dropped for all ethnic groups in the U.S., the racial gap still exists and has not been totally understood in spite of various quantitive studies on the subject (1). I believe infant mortality rates are largely influenced by complex socioeconomic and demographic variables such as age, sex, education, family income, and race. The substantial differences in infant mortality among the varying ethnic groups has been well documented over the years. In order to properly analyze the trends associated with infant mortality rates, The National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) , The National Linked Birth and Infant Death Data Sets, and The National Infant Mortality survey data sources should be used (1).
The United States have the highest rate of teenage pregnancy among 46 developed countries ("U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics National and State Trends and Trends by Race", 2006). Teenage pregnancy and child bearing are societal concerns because of economic and social costs. Childbearing, on average, costs taxpayers in the United States $4,080 per teenager. Moreover, it also affects education, only a third of teen mother earn their high school diploma and only 1.5% have a college degree by
A count in January, 2007, found 745 homeless people in Lucas County, with 200 of those classified as "chronically" homeless, according to HUD data. Figures from January of this year were not immediately available. Nationally, nearly 1.6 million people were homeless and found shelter