Massachusetts: A Self-Portrait

This is the first of a series of posts which will explore the wide variety of information in the recently-released DPH report "Health of Massachusetts." The first chapter explores who we are as residents of Massachusetts - how many are we, what do we do for work, how old are we, and much more. All of these factors play an important role in understanding what makes us healthy.

In terms of its population, Massachusetts has several characteristics that support a healthy community. We are incredibly educated - we have the highest percentage of college graduates in the country. In sheer dollars and cents, we make more than most of our fellow Americans. We are rich in diversity with 25% of residents being immigrants or racial minorities or both.

Demographic information also helps us plan for the public health and medical systems of tomorrow. We must be aware of aging and disabled populations, the unemployed, and the thousands of people who speak different languages.

For a better understanding of the demographic breakdown of Massachusetts, read more in Chapter 1 of "Health of Massachusetts" at www.mass.gov/dph/healthofmassachusetts. And be sure to watch this space for more details from the report in the days and weeks to follow.

Comments

[Tony Motyl]

Thanks for putting Western Massachusetts on the back of the report, instead of on the cover. Now there is official documentation of where the region stands when it comes to DPH priorities, resource allocation, and policy-making decisions.

[Tony Motyl]

The cover for the DPH report "Health of Massachusetts" includes a partial map of the state, basically the area east of I-495. Is your decision to depict only the eastern half of the state on the cover indicative of the Department's public health priorities? ------------------------------------------------- Absolutely not; you can see the remainder of the map on the back cover of the report. The HOM report provides data on the health of all residents and highlights our commitment to the public health of everyone across the Commonwealth.