Commonwealth Conversations: Public Health

Mortality in Massachusetts

This post is highlighting the final chapter - “Mortality” - from the "Health of Massachusetts," a comprehensive report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

In 1841, Massachusetts became the first state to mandate the registration of births and deaths, known as “vital statistics”. Today, death certificates record cause of death, as well as age, race, gender, level of education, marital status, and occupation. This information helps us understand the impact of mortality, monitor long-term mortality trends in the Commonwealth, identify groups at greatest risk of death from diseases and injuries, and design and implement programs.  In addition, variations in death rates may also reflect differences in socio-economic status, access to health care, or geography.

Visit our website for the latest death report and www.mass.gov/dph/healthofmassachusetts for more information on mortality statistics and trends in Massachusetts.

Violence: A Serious -- and Preventable -- Issue for Massachusetts

This is the newest post in the "Health of Massachusetts" series, a comprehensive new report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Chapter thirteen of the “Health of Massachusetts” explores violence in Massachusetts, including bullying, sexual assaults, intimate partner violence, and child and elder abuse.  Data and statistics around these issues can be difficult to capture; many assaults go unreported to medical personnel and police, even when a physical injury occurs.

Regardless of how we count assaults, deaths and injuries are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of how violence affects us. The hidden effects of assaults and threats can include psychological consequences that affect quality of life and physical health. Violence can also negatively impact society through financial and property damage costs, reduced worker productivity, and a sense of fear and dread that can contribute to sedentary lifestyles and social isolation.

The good news is that violence is preventable. The more we learn about factors that increase or reduce the likelihood of violence – known as risk and protective factors – the greater the probability of putting effective prevention strategies into place.

To learn more about how common the problem is, who is most affected, mental and physical health outcomes, and risks associated with violence, visit our website at www.mass.gov/dph/healthofmassachusetts.

The Impact of Suicide and Self-Inflicted Injury in Massachusetts

This is the latest in a series of posts highlighting a chapter from the "Health of Massachusetts", a comprehensive new report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH).

Suicide is a significant, and preventable, public health issue. While the term “suicide” refers to completed suicides, it is also important that we recognize the impact of nonfatal self-inflicted injuries such as suicide attempts or intentionally cutting or burning oneself.

The MDPH Suicide Prevention Program works to reduce the number of suicides and suicide attempts in the Commonwealth. The program employs prevention strategies recommended by the National Suicide Prevention Plan, which include increasing public awareness of suicide as a public health problem, reducing the stigma of help-seeking, depression screening, skills training for mental health, substance abuse and healthcare professionals, gatekeeper training for the general public and services for families and communities after a suicide occurs.

The impact of suicide is enormous. Experts estimate, very conservatively, that for every suicide there are six loved ones left behind to experience the complicated grief that follows. Along with the sadness that attends any death, most of these survivors also suffer from guilt, feeling that they could have “done something” to prevent the suicide.

You can learn more on our website at www.mass.gov/dph/healthofmassachusetts or by visiting the MDPH Suicide Prevention page.

Predicting & Preventing Unintentional Injuries

This is the latest in the series of posts highlighting each chapter from the Department of Public Health’s new and comprehensive "Health of Massachusetts" report.

Chapter eleven looks at unintentional injuries in the state. The term injury includes not only unintentional injuries, or “accidents,” but also self-inflicted injuries, suicides, assault-related injuries and homicides.

In Massachusetts, injuries are the leading cause of death for people ages 1-44 and are the third leading cause of death for all ages combined. In fact, injuries result in more deaths of children and youth ages 1-19 than all other causes combined. The financial burden of injures is enormous. Acute care hospital charges associated with injury were more than $2.6 billion in 2007, not including outpatient care, Emergency Medical Services, rehabilitation, long term care costs or lost wages.

But injuries are not chance occurrences – often times they are predictable, and largely preventable! The most successful injury prevention programs combine four basic strategies known as the “4 E’s”: 1) Engineering/environmental interventions, 2)   Education/behavior change and interventions aimed at the individual, 3) Enactment and enforcement of policies, and 4) Emergency medical response and trauma management.

To learn more about unintentional injuries in Massachusetts, visit our website at http://mass.gov/dph/healthofmassachusetts

Understanding Addiction in Massachusetts

This is the newest post in the "Health of Massachusetts" series, a comprehensive new report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Chapter ten “Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use” looks at the rates of alcohol and drug abuse in Massachusetts. Specifically, we provide data on substance abuse by region and age category, opioid related morbidity and mortality, and tobacco use.

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease. Left untreated, its consequences create a significant public health burden. Its physical and mental health effects range from illness and disability to death. Most aspects of our society, and every aspect of our social service and criminal justice systems, bear a significant impact from substance use disorders (SUDs). Left untreated, SUDs impose significant costs on the Commonwealth, especially for those who rely on programs and services from multiple state agencies.

Massachusetts shoulders a greater public health burden from SUDs than many other states; however, substantial work has been done in recent years to decrease this gap. To learn more, visit our website at www.mass.gov/dph/healthofmassachusetts.

Work and Wellness

This is the latest in a series of posts highlighting a chapter from the Department of Public Health’s new and comprehensive "Health of Massachusetts" report.

Massachusetts workers drive our economy, from biotechnology and health care to fishing and construction. While work is fundamental to well being, working conditions can also have negative impacts on health. This is most obvious in jobs such as construction where many dangers are well recognized, but exposure to chemicals, chronic wear and tear, and stress can also take a toll in many workplaces.  

Workplace hazards should not be simply accepted as part of the job. There is extensive evidence that with effort, these risks can be reduced or even eliminated. The Department’s Occupational Health Surveillance Program (OHSP) manages prevention activities and works with a wide range of government and community partners to address identified workplace health and safety problems. These activities include interventions in individual worksites, educational outreach to workers, employers, and health care providers, recommendations for changes in equipment design, and development of public policies to reduce workplace risks.

Learn more about the work of OHSP and the wide range of health needs of our increasingly diverse and mobile workforce at www.mass.gov/dph/healthofmassachusetts.

Air, Water, Earth, People: The Environmental Health of Massachusetts

This is the latest in a series of posts highlighting each chapter of the "Health of Massachusetts", a comprehensive new report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Chapter eight discusses the work of the Department’s Bureau of Environmental Health (BEH). BEH is responsible for collecting information on numerous environmental and health issues and investigating suspected increases in disease occurrence and their possible relationship to the environment.

The Department works closely with residents, communities, and local health officials across the state to evaluate contaminants in our air, water, soil and food supply. BEH also evaluates indoor air quality in public buildings, posts information on state beaches that are safe for swimming, and enforces regulations such as the state sanitary code.

To learn more about environmental health regulations, prevention measures, and health risks visit www.mass.gov/dph/healthofmassachusetts.

Chronic Disease in Massachusetts: The Big Picture

Chapter seven of “The Health of Massachusetts” highlights the work of the Department’s Bureau of Community Health Access and Promotion. The bureau is primarily responsible for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease.  

Numerous factors contribute to the rapidly rising rates of chronic disease, both in Massachusetts and across the country. These include poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, poor air quality, and exposure to tobacco. In addition, the growing obesity epidemic has also led to a marked increase in many chronic diseases. The combined impact of these health issues greatly affects the residents of Massachusetts, as well as the health care system and economy of the Commonwealth.   

Learn more about these diseases and the work the Department is doing to address them at www.mass.gov/dph/healthofmassachusetts.

On the Trail of Infectious Disease

Chapter six of "The Health of Massachusetts" explores the work of the Department’s Bureau of Infectious Disease Prevention, Response and Services. The bureau is responsible for preventing, observing, and controlling more than 90 infectious diseases and conditions across the state including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, Lyme disease, and West Nile virus.

 

In the 1960s and 1970s, public health experts thought that many infectious diseases were all but conquered in the United States by successful sanitation, vaccines, antibiotics and infection control measures. However, this optimism was short-lived, as new diseases emerged and old ones adapted to our efforts to control them.

We know that successful prevention and control of infectious diseases is built on a foundation of disease surveillance. Surveillance shows what diseases are happening, where they are taking place, and who is getting them. Surveillance data can also show how effective our efforts are in controlling disease.  

Through the years, surveillance of infectious diseases has become highly efficient and increasingly accurate, yet the ever-changing ways the diseases impact our residents provides an ongoing challenge for prevention programs and clinical services. Learn more on our website at: www.mass.gov/dph/healthofmassachusetts.

Massachusetts: Born and Raised

Chapter five of the “Health of Massachusetts” looks at the health and well-being of the mothers, infants, and children of the Commonwealth. Specifically, we present information on the changing demographics of those being born in Massachusetts, statewide maternal and infant health characteristics, and the use of services such as prenatal care, fertility treatments, and the Women Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition program.

 

All of the data on birth, fetal deaths, and infant deaths in Massachusetts is collected by the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics. This information, along with data from statewide maternal and child health programs and surveillance systems, is essential for surveillance, research, and creating public health programs, policies, and interventions.

 

We can see from this data that health outcomes for women, infants, and children in Massachusetts compares quite favorably with those of the rest of the country. Massachusetts has infant mortality and teen birth rates that are among the lowest in the country. However, certain health issues have not seen improvement and substantial differences still exist in many areas. 

 

Learn more on our website at: www.mass.gov/dph/healthofmassachusetts.