Health profiles

child age dependency ratio The number of children under age 15 per 100 people ages 15 through 64.

elderly age dependency ratio The number of people age 65 or over per 100 people ages 15 through 64.

total age dependency ratio The number of children younger than 15 plus the number of people ages 65 or over per 100 people ages 15 through 64.

percent elderly The percent of the total population that is age 65 or older.

number of households The number of occupied houses, apartments or other separate living quarters in which the occupants live and eat separately from other people in the building and to which they have direct access from outside the building or through a common hall. The source of the number of households estimate in 1995 was the State Demographics Center.

1990 census population by race According to the 1990 census definition, the "Asian/Pacific Islander" race category includes Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Asian Indian, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, Hawaiian, Guamian and Samoan people, as reported in the "population by race" tables. The race-specific birth tables for 1995 developed from the Vital Records System in Minnesota, however, do not include Japanese, Chinese, Filipino or Hawaiian in the "Asian/Pacific Islander" race category. These groups are included in the "other and unknown" race category.

Aid to Families with Dependent Children A cash assistance program for families with dependent children (disabled children or children under age 18, or 19 if attending high school) who lacked the support of a parent because of absence, death, incapacitation or unemployment, needed welfare because family income was below the state eligibility standard and were not disqualified because of family assets. No distinction was made between people who were children in the family of an older caretaker and children who had become parents with their own independent welfare cases and entitlements. The federal and state governments paid most of the cost of this assistance, though counties had a small share. AFDC ended with the federal reform of welfare in 1996. The AFDC data was provided by the Minnesota Department of Human Services from data on derivative medical assistance eligibility for January through December 1995. The data is the average monthly enrollment eligible for Medical Assistance on account of having been eligible for AFDC, unduplicated within each county. Counts include both people who were eligible for fee-for-service medical coverage and HMO enrollees. (Note: The average monthly enrollment differs from previous years' county health profile data, which was counts of individuals ever eligible during the entire year.)

General Assistance  Individuals eligible for General Assistance Medical Care who are also eligible for an associated cash welfare grant (these include General Assistance and Work Readiness) are included in this data. The counts of people reported as eligible for GAMC may understate the number of GA and WR recipients in the state, since not all such recipients request GAMC medical coverage. The General Assistance and Work Readiness programs cover needy individuals who lack dependent children or fail citizenship or other technical qualifications for AFDC or for Supplemental Security Income aid to the aged, blind or disabled. Counts include both fee-for-service and HMO enrollees, unduplicated within each county.  Southeast Asian refugees who have been in this country 18 months or less are not included in the AFDC, GA, GAMC or Medicaid data. Although they may be participating in these programs, that participation is entirely federally funded and is not categorized by county of residence. Data was derived for January through December 1995 by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

number of WIC participants The total number of pregnant, postpartum and nursing women, infants and children younger than age 5 who received Women, Infants and Children nutritional program vouchers during 1995. County-level data is determined by combining unduplicated participants of all clinics within a county's boundaries.

Food Stamps A federal program that supplements the food-purchasing ability of low-income households through the distribution of coupons that can be used to purchase food for human consumption. The source of this data was the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

students receiving special education services Unduplicated counts of individuals ages birth through 20 who receive special education services through the public school system. Included in the counts are speech handicapped, educable mentally retarded, trainable mentally retarded, physically handicapped, learning impaired, visually impaired, learning disabled, emotionally disturbed, deaf and blind, or other health impaired (including autistic) individuals. This data was provided by the Minnesota Department of Education.

number of pregnant females below 200 percent poverty The number of pregnant females (live births only) estimated to have incomes of less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The percent of all individuals with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty level (derived from the 1990 census) and 1993 live births were used to calculate these estimates.

number of children (ages birth to 19) below poverty The number of children ages birth to 19 (1995 population estimates) estimated to have household incomes below the federal poverty level. The percent of children below poverty (derived from the 1990 census) was used to calculate these estimates.

fertility rate The number of live births per 1,000 women ages 15 through 44.

birth rate The number of live births per 1,000 population.

natural rate of increase The percentage change in the population due to the difference in the birth  and death rates.

pregnancy rate The number of pregnancies per 1,000 women ages 15 through 44.

abortion rate The number of abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 through 44.

preterm births Live births of babies who are less than 37 weeks' gestation.

low birth weight births Live births of babies weighing less than 2,500 grams.

very low birth weight births, three-year average The percentage of total births of babies weighing less than 1,500 grams averaged over three years, 1993 to 1995.

small for gestational age The percentage of births of babies evaluated as small for gestational age, which is based on a standard calculation of the birth weight and gestational age.

infant mortality rate The number of deaths of infants under 1 year old per 1,000 live births. (The five-year rate is based on the years 1991 through1995, and the rate for five years ago is based on the years 1986 through 1990.)

neonatal death rate The number of deaths of infants under 28 days old per 1,000 live births. (The five-year rate is based on the years 1991 through 1995.)

postneonatal death The death of an infant age 28 days to 1 year.

postneonatal death rate The number of postneonatal deaths per 1,000 live births. (The five-year rate is based on the years 1991 through 1995.)

fetal death The death of a fetus before its complete expulsion or extraction from its mother, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy. In this summary, only deaths of fetuses of 20 or more weeks' gestation are reported.

fetal death rate The number of fetal deaths per 1,000 live births plus fetal deaths. (The five-year rate is based on the years 1991 through 1995.)

perinatal deaths The number of deaths of fetuses of 20 or more weeks' gestation plus the number of neonatal deaths.

perinatal death rate The number of deaths of fetuses of 20 or more weeks' gestation plus the number of neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births plus fetal deaths.

GINDEX A prenatal care index developed by Dr. Greg Alexander of the University of Minnesota. Adequacy of prenatal care is determined by combining measures of the month or trimester prenatal care began, the number of prenatal visits and the gestational age of the fetus at the time of birth. The GINDEX includes gestational age of over 36 weeks and the number of prenatal visits exceeding nine to impute adequacy of prenatal care. An adequate or better categorization means prenatal care started in the first trimester and the woman had an adequate number of prenatal visits; intermediate  means prenatal care started in the first or second trimester and the woman had an intermediate range of visits; and inadequate or none means either that prenatal care was nonexistent or started in the third trimester or that the woman had an inadequate number of visits, regardless of when prenatal care began.

cesarian births The percentage of live births in which the health provider indicated on the birth certificate that the delivery was performed as a cesarian birth.

primary cesarian The percentage of live births in which the health provider indicated on the birth certificate that this was the first cesarian birth for the mother.

repeat cesarian The percentage of live births in which the health provider indicated on the birth certificate that this was a repeat cesarian birth for the mother.

electronic fetal monitoring The percentage of live births in which the health provider indicated on the birth certificate that electronic fetal monitoring was performed during labor and delivery.

ultrasound The percentage of live births in which the health provider indicated on the birth certificate that ultrasound was performed during labor and delivery.

home births The percentage of live births in which the baby was delivered at home or at a place other than a hospital.

teen birth rate and pregnancy rate pregnancy rate The number of live births and the number of pregnancies per 1,000 females ages 15 through 19. (The three-year rate is based on the years 1993 through 1995.)

all women at risk for unintended pregnancy This calculation, developed by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, takes into consideration the number of women whose incomes are  less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, the number of women who are less than 20 years old and the number of women who are ages 20 to 44. The proportion of each of these groups is estimated to determine the total number of women who are at risk for unintended pregnancy.

maternal educational status (low, medium, high) A calculation of the percentage of mothers who have reached an educational status, based on age of the mother and number of school years completed.

birth to unmarried mothers (current and 1990) The percentage of births in which the mother is identified as unmarried on the birth certificate for the most recent year of 1995 and for 1990.

no father on birth certificate The percentage of births in which the father is not identified on the birth certificate. This measure indicates the lack of involvement of the father in births to unmarried mothers.

mother smoked during pregnancy (current and 1990) The percentage of births in which it was noted on the birth certificate that the mother smoked during pregnancy both for the most recent year of 1995 and for 1990.

race and ethnicity The race and ethnicity classification of the mother, as identified on the birth certificate. The race and ethnicity categories on the birth certificate are the federal standards for race and ethnicity reporting. If "Hispanic" was chosen as the ethnicity category, the individual is included in this report as Hispanic/Latino/Chicano regardless of whether a race category, such as white or African American, also was checked.

leading causes of death by age group This data was determined on a county-by-county basis. Due to the particular computer algorithm used, the fifth cause of death in any age group may have been selected randomly from among several causes of death with the same numerical value. This is generally true only for causes with a small number of cases. Also, the category other respiratory conditions excludes pneumonia and influenza; other metabolic diseases excludes diabetes; other arterial disease excludes arteriosclerosis and aortic aneurysm; and other digestive disease excludes chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. The category ill defined includes conditions and symptoms for which no more specific diagnosis can be made after full investigation of the case or for which two or more diseases or body systems are suspected but the full investigation necessary to make a final diagnosis was not undertaken.

motor vehicle injuries The severity of injuries suffered as a result of motor vehicle accidents are categorized as follows: a severe injury is one (excluding a fatal injury) that prevents the injured person from walking, driving or normally continuing activities that he or she was capable of performing just before the accident; a moderate injury is any injury other than fatal or incapacitating that is evident to a person other than the injured at the scene of the accident (for example, bruises, abrasions, swelling, minor lacerations, or limping); a minor injury is neither severe nor moderate but rather a complaint of physical pain by the injured and may include momentary unconsciousness, nausea and hysteria, among other conditions. Occupants of vehicles normally equipped with seat belts refers to such vehicles as passenger vehicles, trucks and taxis. This definition excludes motorcycles, snowmobiles, buses and so forth. This data was provided by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

cause of death: The Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases was used.

mortality rate The number of deaths per 1,000 population.

fatal injury rate The number of deaths due to injury per 100,000 people in a specific age cohort.

suicide rate The number of deaths due to suicide per 100,000 people in a specific age cohort.

homicide rate The number of deaths due to homicide per 100,000 people in a specific age cohort.

occupancy rate The percent occupancy in long-term care facilities is calculated on the assumption that the beds licensed at the end of the reporting period were in place for the entire reporting period. Hence, percent occupancy may be understated if beds were added late in the year or overstated if beds were reduced late in the year.

behavioral risk The percent of adults 18 and older who are at risk for various behavioral health risk factors (such as smoking and seat belt use) was derived through the application of the synthetic estimation method. The Center for Health Statistics used data from the 1995 statewide behavioral risk factor telephone survey to provide estimates at the county level. The following definitions were used: lack of seat belt usage includes respondents who report they "sometimes," "seldom" or "never" use seat belts; hypertension includes respondents who report "they have ever been told by a doctor, nurse or other health professional they have high blood pressure"; smoking includes respondents who say they are a current regular smoker (that is, they ever smoked 100 cigarettes and smoke now); overweight is defined as a body mass index (weight in kilograms divided by height in meters) of 27.8 or greater for men and 27.3 or greater for women; acute drinking includes respondents who report they have consumed five or more drinks on an occasion one or more times in the month before being surveyed; chronic drinking includes respondents who report consuming an average of two or more drinks per day or 60 or more drinks per month; and drinking and driving includes respondents who say they have driven after having too much to drink one or more times in the month.