Residents in 27 of the nation's big cities are experiencing lower rates of cancer, diabetes and motor vehicle-accident deaths in 2012 compared with 2007, though African-Americans have not shared in many of these gains, according to a report from the Big Cities Health Coalition.
Also, 23 cities have reduced diabetes death rates, 12 have reduced cancer death rates and 17 have met targets for lowering obesity.
The coalition is a program of the National Association of County and City Health Officials that receives financial support from the Robert Woods Johnson and de Beaumont foundations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided funding for the report, the Big Cities Health Inventory.
Despite the progress, though, the report also found that urban blacks experienced higher cancer death rates than blacks in other areas. Also, racial disparities persist for HIV-related deaths in all cities tracked except for Denver.
The report noted “extraordinary strides” made in improving urban Hispanic health. The main exception would be diabetes. For Hispanics, diabetes led to 79.9 deaths per 100,000 in 2012 while the national rate was 69.1.
The coalition also unveiled a searchable database that tracks 30 health indicators from 26 cities, and encouraged journalists and policymakers to use it. These indicators include HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases, infant mortality, tobacco use, homicide, suicide, food safety and behavioral health. Other socio-economic measures spotlight poverty, unemployment and income levels.
Public health officials lauded the data, saying it will improve outcomes and help target services to specific communities.
"Public health officials who work every day to improve the lives of urban Americans will benefit greatly from the insights in this report," said Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
