Strengths:

• High rate of high school graduation
• Low prevalence of diabetes
• Low rate of uninsured population

 

Challenges:

• High level of air pollution
• High prevalence of binge drinking
• Low per capita public health funding

 

Highlights:

• Although diabetes remains low at 8.4 percent of the adult population, there are almost 370,000 adults with diabetes in Wisconsin.
• In the past five years, the high school graduation rate rose from 85.8 percent to 90.7 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years.
• In the past ten years, the rate of preventable hospitalizations dropped 14 percent from 64.5 to 55.3 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.
• In the past year, the incidence of infectious disease increased from 4.8 to 8.0 cases per 100,000 population.
• In the past year, the percentage of children in poverty increased from 12.7 percent to 21.4 of persons under age 18.

 

Disparities:

• In Wisconsin, obesity is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 49.4 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 27.2 percent and Hispanics at 19.3 percent; smoking is more prevalent among Hispanics at 29.6 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 17.9 percent; and sedentary lifestyle is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 35.1 percent than Hispanics at 26.0 percent and non-Hispanic whites at 21.6 percent.

 

State Health Department Web Site: www.dhs.wisconsin.gov