According to accrues of the 2003 e...

According to accrues of the 2003 edition of the annual report "America's Health: State Health Rankings," the United States' overall healthiness improved by means of 1.4 percent since 2002 and 169 percent since 1990 The report, which is produc through the United Health Foundation in conjunction with the American Public Health Association and the Partnership for Prevention, ranked Minnesota and of recent origin Hampshire as the healthiest states in the region followed by Utah, Vermont, and Massachusetts. The five least healthy states were Tennessee Arkansas, southern Carolina, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The rankings are based upon a comprehensive, multidimensional, yearly analysis of the relative healthiness of the American population using information supplied by the agency of sources including the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor, and the National Safety Council. The report incorporates measures that consider the decisions made by bodily forms who affect public health; the social environment that affects the health of bodys and families; and the policy decisions made from public officials who determine the availability of public health and medical care resources. Reasons for the increase in health status listed in the report include a 36 percent decline in deaths caused at motor vehicle crashes, a 34 percent decrease in infectious disease, a 32 percent decline in infant mortality, and a 24 percent decrease in the prevalence of smoking. The unimpaired report can be read online at http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org.

COPYRIGHT 2003 American Academy of Family Physicians

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group