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Sep. 12th, 2006 06:09 pm
The Eight Americas
According to life expectancy and general health there are eight different Americas not one:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/PublicHealth/tb/4084
An edited excerpt:
They defined the eight Americas, or population groups, this way:
1. Asian, population 10.4 million, living in counties where Pacific Islanders make up less than 40% of the Asian population.
2. Northland low-income rural white, population 3.6 million, These are whites living in the northern plains and Dakotas
3. Middle America, population 214 million, This group includes all whites not included in the Northland low-income America or in the poor living in Appalachia or Mississippi, as well as Asians not included in America 1 and Native Americans not included in America 5.
4. Low-income whites in Appalachia and the Mississippi Valley includes 16.5 million people
5. Western Native American, population one million, living usually on reservations.
6. Black middle America, population 23.4 million,
7. Southern rural low income black, population 5.8 million,
8. High-risk urban black, population 7.5 million,
Many differences in life expectancy were found between the eight groups. As an example, in 2001 the life expectancy gap between the 3.4 million high-risk urban black males and the 5.6 million Asian females was nearly 21 years. Within the sexes, the gap between the best-off and the worst-off groups was 15.4 years for males (Asians versus high-risk urban blacks) and 12.8 years for females (Asians versus low-income rural blacks in the South).
Little had changed in 14 years. The gaps between best-off and worst-off were similar in 2001 to what they were in 1987.
The authors suggested three steps to address the longevity disparities:
Systemic epidemiological and economic analyses to identify effective interventions "that make the biggest difference to those with the worst health."
Monitoring systems at the state and territorial level to provide information on the population in each community
"who would benefit most from these interventions."
Public reporting about delivery of these interventions and the outcomes.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/PublicHealth/tb/4084
An edited excerpt:
They defined the eight Americas, or population groups, this way:
1. Asian, population 10.4 million, living in counties where Pacific Islanders make up less than 40% of the Asian population.
2. Northland low-income rural white, population 3.6 million, These are whites living in the northern plains and Dakotas
3. Middle America, population 214 million, This group includes all whites not included in the Northland low-income America or in the poor living in Appalachia or Mississippi, as well as Asians not included in America 1 and Native Americans not included in America 5.
4. Low-income whites in Appalachia and the Mississippi Valley includes 16.5 million people
5. Western Native American, population one million, living usually on reservations.
6. Black middle America, population 23.4 million,
7. Southern rural low income black, population 5.8 million,
8. High-risk urban black, population 7.5 million,
Many differences in life expectancy were found between the eight groups. As an example, in 2001 the life expectancy gap between the 3.4 million high-risk urban black males and the 5.6 million Asian females was nearly 21 years. Within the sexes, the gap between the best-off and the worst-off groups was 15.4 years for males (Asians versus high-risk urban blacks) and 12.8 years for females (Asians versus low-income rural blacks in the South).
Little had changed in 14 years. The gaps between best-off and worst-off were similar in 2001 to what they were in 1987.
The authors suggested three steps to address the longevity disparities:
Systemic epidemiological and economic analyses to identify effective interventions "that make the biggest difference to those with the worst health."
Monitoring systems at the state and territorial level to provide information on the population in each community
"who would benefit most from these interventions."
Public reporting about delivery of these interventions and the outcomes.
