Critical MASS

Socio-demographics (Census 2000):

Based on 2000 Census data, Blacks had a lower percentage of college graduates compared with the state overall and also a higher percentage of persons with less than a high school education. In 2000, only 12% of the Blacks in Massachusetts had bachelor’s degrees compared to 20% of the state population.
The mean household income for Blacks in 1999 was 32% below the statewide mean household income and 54% below the mean household income for Whites in Massachusetts.
According to 2000 Census data, one-third of the state’s Hispanic residents and 21% of Black residents live in poverty compared to 7% of White residents.
Hispanic students had the highest annual dropout rate of 8% followed by a rate of 6.1% for Black students for the period 2000-2001. Asian students had a rate of 3.9% while White students had the lowest rate of 2.6%.

Access:

Hispanic and black, non-Hispanic adults remained the least insured in Massachusetts in 2000, followed by Asian, non-Hispanics. Twenty-two percent of Hispanics and 16% of black, non-Hispanics in Massachusetts had no health care coverage in 2000. Only 6% of white, non-Hispanic residents were with out health care coverage in the same year.
Black, non-Hispanic followed by Hispanic mothers have the lowest percentage of women receiving prenatal care during their first trimester of pregnancy, 71% and 74%, respectively in 2000. Close to 90% of white, non-Hispanic mothers received prenatal care during their first trimester of pregnancy in the same year.
Asian or Pacific Islanders stand out among the major race groups as having a very high percentage of women not going for pap smears -- 39% compared to 13% for white, non-Hispanic women (1995-1999).

Behaviors/risks:

Based on self-reported data, 28% of black, non-Hispanics and 20% of Hispanics were obese compared to 17% of white, non-Hispanics (2000).
Significantly more white, non-Hispanic students (65%) participated in vigorous physical activity than did Black, Hispanic or Asian students (56%, 54%, and 50% respectively) in 2001.
Hispanic adults have the lowest percentages who had received an influenza shot during the last year or who had ever received a pneumonia vaccine in Massachusetts. Rates are highest for White, non-Hispanic adults (2000).

Outcomes:

The mortality rate for Black non-Hispanics is the highest of all major race groups, and is 22% higher than the statewide age-adjusted mortality rate in 2000.
The infant mortality rate was three times higher for black non-Hispanics than white non-Hispanics for the period 1998-2000.
Black, non-Hispanics were 10 times more likely than white, non-Hispanics to be murdered in 2000.
In 2000, black non-Hispanic residents died from HIV/AIDS at about 10 times the rate for white, non-Hispanic residents.
Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic residents had higher hospitalization rates for asthma -- both between 2.5 - 3 times the statewide rate of hospitalization for asthma in 1999.
The teen birth rate for Hispanics was almost 6 times higher than the rate for white, non-Hispanic teens in 2000 (81 vs. 14 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19).