Nebraska Improves to 15th in Overall Health Rankings

OVERALL RANKING:

Nebraska is 15th this year
It was 18th in 2011

• 9 Outcomes Rank
• 17 Determinants Rank
• 15 Overall Rank
• 11 Diabetes Rank
• 19 Smoking Rank
• 30 Obesity Rank

For more information visit: http://www.americashealthrankings.org/

Strengths:

• High rate of high school graduation
• Few poor mental & physical health days per month
• High immunization coverage
   

Challenges:

• High prevalence of binge drinking
• High incidence of infectious disease
• High occupational fatalities rate

Highlights:

• In Nebraska, more than 390,000 adults are obese and more than 360,000 adults live a sedentary lifestyle.
• In the past five years, the high school graduation rate decreased from 87.6 percent to 82.9 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within 4 years.
• Although Nebraska has a high incidence of infectious disease, the rate decreased in the last year from 14.1 to 11.4 cases per 100,000 population.
• In the past 10 years, the rate of uninsured population increased from 8.5 percent to 12.8 percent.
• In the past 5 years, the rate of preventable hospitalizations decreased from 73.3 to 65.4 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.
• In the past year, the infant mortality rate decreased from 6.1 to 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.  In 2002 the rate was 7.1 deaths.

Health Disparities:
In Nebraska, sedentary lifestyle is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 40.8 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 23.2 percent; obesity is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 39.6 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 27.0 percent; and smoking is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 22.6 percent than Hispanics at 16.5 percent and non-Hispanic whites at 16.3 percent.