Eight Updated Measures are Now Available on SHADAC’s State Health Compare

Measures that have been updated include:

 

Child Vaccinations

Child Vaccinations measures the rate of receipt of recommended vaccinations for children, which is defined as getting the recommended doses of the 7-vaccine series.¹ SHADAC has updated the measure parameters to align with the National Immunization Survey’s new method of reporting by birth year, rather than survey year, and has also altered the measure definition to be the “percent of children age 24 months who had received all recommended vaccines,” changed from the “percent of children age 19-35 months who had received all recommended vaccines,” in order to more closely align with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) child and adolescent recommended vaccination schedule.  Data for all states is available on State Health Compare for birth years 2011-2016.

Children Considered to be Poor

Estimates for this measure capture the percent of children considered to be poor or those whose family income is less than 100% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG), which set the minimum amount of total income that a family needs for food, clothing, transportation, shelter and other necessities. Estimates are now available for all states for data years 2008-2019 and can be broken down by race and ethnicity.

Broadband Internet Access

This measure provides the percent of non-group quarters households that pay a cell phone or internet service provider for a broadband internet subscription (that includes a cellular data plan, cable, fiber optic, DSL, or satellite internet service). Data are available for 2016-2019 for all states and can be broken down by disability status, family income, Medicaid enrollment, and metropolitan status.

Unaffordable Rents

Data on unaffordable rents, which measures the percentage of rental households that spend more than 30% of their households’ monthly income on rent, is now available for 2012-2019. Breakdowns by disability status, household income categories, Medicaid enrollment, metropolitan status, and White/non-White racial categories are also available for all states.

Medicaid Expenses as Percent of State Budget

This is a measure of state and federal spending on Medicaid as a share of state budgets in a year, which is defined as the fiscal year. Estimates are available for fiscal years 2000-2019 in all states.

Suicide Deaths

Estimates for this measure provide age-adjusted rates of suicide deaths per 100,000 people. Rates can be broken down into categories of age, metropolitan status, race/ethnicity, sex, and method (firearm/non-firearm), and are available from 1999-2019 for all states.

Opioid-Related and Other Drug Poisoning Deaths

This measure provides the age-adjusted rates of deaths caused by drug poisoning (overdose), including those caused by natural and semi-synthetic opioids (e.g., common prescription painkiller pills such as hydrocodone and oxycodone), synthetic opioids (such as fentanyl, but excluding methadone), and the illegal opioid heroin. Also included are drugs that are often related to opioid deaths, such as cocaine and psychostimulants. Users are able to view estimates from 1999-2019, and can view rates for all states by individual drug types, as well as by groups (all opioids vs. all drugs).

Smoke-Free Campuses

Data for this measure indicate a simple “yes” or “no” answer to the question of whether a state has enacted laws to ensure smoke-free campuses at both the K-12 and collegiate levels. Estimates are now available for years 2000-2019 across all states, and can be broken down by campus types (e.g., public and private K-12 schools, public and private colleges, and all campuses).

Notes.

Data for the child vaccinations measure comes from the National Immunization Survey (NIS). Estimates for children considered to be poor, broadband internet access, and unaffordable rents come from the American Community Survey (ACS). The measure of Medicaid expenses as a percentage of a state’s budget comes from the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) State Expenditure Reports. Rates of suicide deaths and opioid-related and other drug poisoning deaths are drawn from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Vital Statistics Data via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) WONDER database. Data for the smoke-free campuses are drawn from the CDC State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System.

Click here to explore these updated estimates on State Health Compare!