Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General Report Card Questions
- Why does the Foundation issue the Colorado Health Report Card?
- Who compiles the data for the Report Card and what sources are used?
- What’s new in the 2009 Colorado Health Report Card?
- How did the grades for each life stage change in 2009?
- How were the grades determined for each life stage?
- How can these grades be improved?
Q. Why does the Foundation issue the Colorado Health Report Card?
A. The Colorado Health Report Card provides a benchmark for measuring progress on some of the state’s most pressing health issues. In order to realize our vision that Colorado will become the healthiest state in the nation, we need a tool to determine how healthy we are, how we compare with other states and what needs to be done to make us healthier. The Report Card is published every two years. In alternate years, report card data and supporting materials are updated online and an in-depth analysis of a key health indicator is published.
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Q. Who compiles the data for the Report Card and what sources are used?
A. The Colorado Health Institute, a nonprofit organization that is a comprehensive source of health information and analysis, compiles the data for the Colorado Health Report Card. The indicators selected for the 2009 Colorado Health Report Card come from seven different data sources, such as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the Colorado Child Health Survey and Current Population Survey (CPS). [View a complete list of resources]
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Q. What’s new in the 2009 Colorado Health Report Card?
A. The 2009 Colorado Health Report Card shows that, overall, the health grades have not improved since 2006 when the Foundation issued the first Report Card. Slight gains were made in the grades for Healthy Beginnings, which went from C- to C and Healthy Adults, which went from B- to B. Most troubling is the overall grade for Healthy Children, which dropped from an already dismal C- to an unacceptably low D+.
What has become increasingly clear from the trend data for each of the childhood indicators is that we are not making appreciable progress in any of them, and in some cases, we are losing ground. This decline puts the health of Colorado’s children at risk. Perhaps the most distressing change in Colorado’s rankings is in childhood obesity. Using the most current national data, Colorado’s rank for childhood obesity went from 3rd in 2003 to 23rd in 2007 with 14 percent of Colorado’s children classified as obese.
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Q. How did the grades for each life stage change in 2009?
A. A small gain was made in Healthy Beginnings between 2008 and 2009, with the grade improving from a C- to a C. Delayed prenatal care and smoking while pregnant are among the factors that contribute to low birth weight and to babies who die in the first year of life. As children grow, the best way to protect them against disease is to see that they receive all the recommended childhood vaccinations. Colorado does poorly compared to other states in a number of these areas. Policymakers, health care providers and families can all do better in ensuring that all of our children have a healthy beginning that can contribute to a longer life expectancy.
In reviewing the Healthy Children indicators it is clear that too many Colorado children live in poverty, and too few have health insurance. Roughly 127,000 (15 percent) of the state’s children 12 years and younger lived at or below the federal poverty level during 2006–2008 (about $20,650 for a family of four in 2007). Approximately 120,000 children had no form of insurance during this time period as well. Children without insurance are more likely to lack a medical home and thus are less likely to get coordinated medical, mental and dental care. Too few Colorado children get enough exercise, and 14 percent are obese. Unlike Colorado’s adults who have the lowest obesity rate in the nation, Colorado’s children rank in the middle of the pack with respect to obesity. This poor ranking along with lower ranks in many other indicators results in a low grade of D+.
Insuring our children, seeing that they have a medical home and making sure they get enough exercise will better prepare them for the challenges of adolescence and adulthood.
The transitional years represented by the Healthy Adolescent life stage pose special challenges for establishing good health habits. Compared to other states, Colorado’s adolescents score relatively well on nutrition, good mental health and avoiding risky sexual behaviors.
Too many, however, binge drink and smoke, and the number of births to teenage mothers, while lower than in the past, is still higher than in most states. Underlying all this is the same lack of health insurance—11 percent have none—found among younger children. Addressing these issues will enable Colorado’s adolescents to enter adulthood with good health and good health habits.
The Healthy Adult indicators show that Colorado’s working-age adults are healthier than their counterparts in most other states. The state has the third-lowest incidence of hypertension and the sixth-lowest percentage of adults who report poor mental health. Colorado’s adults are more likely to exercise, and Colorado has the lowest rate of adult obesity in the country. But the state does poorly in terms of insurance coverage: One in five working-age adults lacked health insurance in 2007. In addition, Colorado ranks in the bottom half of all states with respect to adults having a regular source of medical care and binge drinking, suggesting room for improvement.
The grade of B masks some troubling trends and disparities with our adults. The state’s obesity rate has doubled in fewer than 20 years, and low-income Coloradans and racial and ethnic minorities lag behind on most indicators. Most ominously, Colorado’s failure to do better by its children threatens future grades for healthy adults and Colorado’s ability to maintain its reputation as a healthy and prosperous state.
Colorado’s older adults do relatively well according to the indicators included in the Report Card's Healthy Aging life stage. Colorado scores in the top 10 on three of the six Healthy Aging indicators. Following national trends, Colorado’s older adults are living longer and healthier lives. They are more likely to engage in physical activity and have the highest rate of flu and pneumonia vaccinations compared to older adults in other states.
Based on this fairly good performance, Colorado gets a B+ for Healthy Aging, still leaving room for improvement. More than one in five older adults report that poor physical or mental health kept them from doing their usual activities on eight or more days in the last month. Even though Colorado is ranked first for flu and pneumonia vaccinations, only 62 percent of older adults have actually been vaccinated.
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Q. How were the grades determined for each life stage?
A. A grade is assigned to each life cycle stage based on Colorado’s average rank for all indicators included in the life stage. For example, the average rank for the six Healthy Children indicators is 30.5. The letter grade of D+ was assigned according to the rank/letter grade equivalency included in the Report Card.
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Q. How can these grades be improved?
A. Our Report Card Web site identifies a number of initiatives and policies in Colorado and elsewhere that hold promise for improving health. In selecting these initiatives, we have highlighted those that offer innovative solutions. In some cases, changes in local, state or federal health policies may be required to improve the grades.
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