Strengths:

• Low incidence of infectious disease
• Low prevalence of binge drinking

 

Challenges:

• Limited availability of primary care physicians
• High prevalence of sedentary lifestyle, obesity, & diabetes
• High prevalence of smoking
• High rate of cardiovascular deaths

 

Highlights:

• In the past five years, the rate of preventable hospitalizations decreased from 95.9 to 81.0 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees; however, it still ranks very high among all states.
• In the past ten years, low birthweight infants increased from 7.4 percent to 8.4 percent of live births.
• In the past ten years, the infant mortality rate decreased from 8.5 to 7.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.
• In the past year, the per capita public health funding declined from $113 to $95 per person.
• Last year, 25.0 percent of persons under age 18 lived in poverty; this year it is 20.7 percent.
• Smoking remains high at 26.1 percent of adults; 745,000 adults still smoke in Oklahoma.

 

Disparities:

• In Oklahoma, smoking is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 31.9 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 23.3 percent and Hispanics at 20.7 percent; and obesity is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 42.9 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 29.9 percent and Hispanics at 29.7 percent.

 

State Health Department Web Site: www.ok.gov/health