The Enquirer Journal
The 2014 Child Health Report Card showed decreases in uninsured children, teen pregnancy rates and infant deaths among other things.
The report card is released by NC Child and the North Carolina Institute of Medicine, with funding by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the report card.
The report analyzes numerous markers including access to health care, health risk behaviors, death an injury.
“Our progress over the past 20 years is cause for optimism about the future,” Executive Director Michelle Hughes said in a statement. “However, it is important to remember that this progress is not accidental; it is the direct result of strategic, data-driven investments in children’s health and well-being.”
Four areas where children in North Carolina either worsened or did not change were child poverty, weight and physical activity, tobacco use and mental health, alcohol and substance abuse.
See progress/page A4
The percentage of children in poverty ages 18 and younger was 25.2 percent in 2013, compared to 22.5 percent in 2009. The percentage of children ages five and younger in poverty was 28 percent in 2013 and 26.7 percent in 2009.
Hughes drew a correlation between child poverty and health.
“Child poverty is closely linked to a number of negative outcomes, including obesity, lack of health insurance coverage, mental health and substance abuse problems, and much more. If we want to continue to make progress on child health, we cannot ignore the economic health of our communities,” she said in a statement.
According to the report, 36.3 percent of children ages 10 through 17 are overweight or obese in North Carolina. Only 36.7 percent of children between the ages of two and nine met the recommended guidelines of at least an hour of exercise six or seven days a week. The percentage of children who met that guideline between ages 10 and 17 was 26.7 percent.
According to the 2014 State of the County Health Report, obesity in Union County continued to increase across all demographics.
The report also looked at who met the recommended guidelines of two hours or less of screen time every day, 43.2 percent of children between the ages of two and nine met the guideline and 138 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 17 met the guideline.
The report shows that fewer high school students reported using tobacco, but th22.4 percent of high school students reported using an “emerging tobacco product,” like e-cigarettes in the past 30 days.
The number of middle and high school students who attempted suicide or who required medical treatment due to a suicide attempt by injury, poisoning or overdose both increased between 2011 and 2013.
In 2011, 9.5 percent of middle school students reported that they had tried to kill themselves, the percentage rose to 10.5 percent in 2013.
In 2011, 5 percent of high school students received medical treatment due to a suicide attempt, the percentage increased to 5.3 percent in 2013.
The percentage of high school students who used marijuana increased, but the percentages of students using alcohol, cocaine and prescription drugs without a prescription decreased.
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