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(Illinois) Kids Count study finds high infant mortality rates in Coles, Edgar counties
http://www.jg-tc.com/articles/2003/0...res/feat09.txt
Kids Count study finds high infant mortality rates in Coles, Edgar counties BY BETH HELDEBRANDT, Features Editor A statewide study shows that infant mortality rates in Coles and Edgar counties exceed the state average. Illinois Kids Count 2003 reported infant deaths in 8.8 of every 1,000 children born in Coles County from 1997 to 2001. In Edgar County, the mortality rate for the same time period was 11.1. The state average is 8.1. The infant mortality rate reflects the number of children who died before their first birthday. Figures were derived by dividing the number of infant deaths for a five-year period by the number of live births during those years. Cathie Reynolds, director of nursing at the Coles County Health Department, said it is difficult to pinpoint why the county rate is above the state average. "We monitor this on a pretty close basis ... so it's not new to us," she said. "We look for problems that could have been avoided, but the majority of our high-risk infants and the infants that we have been involved with who have died have been for some kind of severe congenital problem." Additional infant testing and more genetic screening prior to pregnancy could improve the treatment of babies with congenital defects, she said. Reynolds said the department does promote other factors that lead to a healthy pregnancy. She said Coles County is lower than the state average in other indicators that sometimes lead to a higher infant mortality, such as early entry into prenatal care and number of prenatal visits. "One of the things we have been concerned about and we have been working on addressing is the high rate of mothers who smoke," she said. "That percentage is over twice the state average, and has been going up." Mothers who smoke have a higher chance of having pre-term delivery and lower birth-rate babies, she said. "I don't know that there is a direct correlation between babies we have seen and whether or not the mothers smoke, but that is a concern and it could potentially lead to problems," she said. "We are looking at the population we're serving, and we have about 1,100 clients in our WIC program," she said. "We are trying to address some of those issues with those clients as well." Statewide, the survey said, the falling infant mortality rate is attributed to a drop in deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, pneumonia and influenza, respiratory distress syndrome, birth defects and accidents. "Improvements in medical technology that help premature babies grow and develop also are a factor," the survey said. Danielle Craig, director of nursing at the Edgar County Health Department, said she was unfamiliar with the Illinois Kids Count 2003 survey and declined comment. The survey stated that all of the other five area counties -- Clark, Cumberland, Douglas, Moultrie and Shelby -- had insufficient data to calculate an infant mortality rate. The Illinois Kids Count 2003 survey was compiled by Voices for Illinois Children, a non-profit organization. Other study findings: -- Douglas County was the only area county that reported an increase in child abuse and neglect cases between 1997 and 2001. The county had a 20.4 percent increase of cases during that time period, while the state reported a 26.5 percent decrease (see accompanying graph). The data, provided by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, includes all cases in which DCFS found evidence that abuse or neglect occurred. This number is smaller than reported cases, some of which eventually prove unfounded. -- All area counties exceeded the state average high school graduation rate with the exception of Shelby County. In 2000-2001, 79.8 percent of high school students in Shelby County graduated, a 9.5 percent decrease from the 1999-2000 school year. The state average for 2000-2001 was 83.2 percent. The figures, compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education, do reflect students who moved out of or into districts within the time period. -- Cumberland County was the only county with a significant increase in the percentage of teens who gave birth. This figure looks at the total number of residents between the ages of 15 and 19 who gave birth. Cumberland saw a 72.7 percent increase in the number of teens who gave birth from 1999 to 2000 (see accompanying graph). The state saw an 11.8 percent decrease during the same time period. The statistics for the survey came from the Illinois Department of Public Health. -- Five area counties saw their teen birth rates rise from 1986 to 2000. In Coles County, 14.9 percent of all births in the county from 1996 to 2000 were to teens, an increase of 5.2 percent since the 1986-1990 time period. Figures for other area counties were as follows: Clark, 13.7 percent, a 4.8 percent increase; Cumberland, 13 percent, a 24.9 percent increase; Douglas, 9.1 percent, a 10.6 percent decrease; Edgar, 17.3 percent, a 3 percent decrease; Moultrie, 11.9 percent, a 36.9 percent increase; Shelby, 13.5 percent, an 8.6 percent increase. Statewide, the teen birth rate was 12.2 percent from 1996 to 2000, a 4 percent decrease. The statistics for the survey came from the Illinois Department of Public Health. -- Six of seven area counties saw a decrease in the number of foster children placed in permanent homes from 1997 to 2001. This indicator measures the precentage of foster children who are placed in one of three permanent living arrangements: reunification with the parents, adoption, or subsidized guardianship, such as another relative taking care of the child. The study shows that Cumberland County saw no children placed in permanent homes in 2001, a 100 percent decline over 1997 figures. Figures from other area counties are as follows: Clark, 37.1 percent decrease; Coles, 13.6 percent decrease; Douglas, 24.9 percent decrease; Edgar, 26.1 percent decrease; and Shelby, 50 percent decrease. Moultrie County saw a 56.5 percent increase in the number of foster children placed in permanent homes from 1997 to 2001. Statewide, the percentage of children placed in permanent homes rose 61.6 percent. The figures were provided by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Contact Beth Heldebrandt at or 238-6857. Coles, Moultrie placed on Poverty Watch List Coles County's high infant mortality rate was one factor that led it to be placed on a Poverty Watch List by a state group. The Illinois Poverty Summit has put both Coles and Moultrie counties on the watch list, based on the 2003 Report on Illinois Poverty, compiled by Heartland Alliance. The list ranks each county according to four indicators: infant mortality, poverty rate, birth mothers without a high school degree and housing costs. Counties exceeding the state average in two of these areas were placed on the Poverty Watch list. Coles exceeded state averages in infant mortality and poverty rates. Moultrie exceeded the state average in infant mortality and the number of birth mothers without a high school degree. Infant mortality According to the IPS study, there were 9.4 deaths for every 1,000 births in Coles County from 1999 to 2001. Moultrie County saw 8.2 deaths for every 1,000 births during the same time period. The state average is 8.0. Other area counties above the state average were Clark, 1.8; Cumberland, 10.5; Edgar, 10.8; and Shelby, 9.6. Douglas County's rate was 5.5, below the state average. The statistics were compiled by the Illinois Center for Health Statistics and the Illinois Department of Public Health. Poverty rates Coles County had a poverty rate of 17.5 in 1999, above the state average of 10.7. "This means that 17.5 percent of the population is legally poor, based on the federal government's definition of poverty," said Amy Rynell, director of the Mid-America Institute on Poverty, who worked on the report. The figure is based on the income level and size of the family, as reported in the 2000 U.S. Census. For example, a family of four with an income of less than $18,400 per year would fall below the federal poverty level. All of the other area counties were below the state average: Clark, 9.2; Cumberland, 9.5; Douglas, 6.4; Edgar, 10.5; Moultrie, 7.8; and Shelby, 9.1. Birth mothers without a high school degree The study showed that 31.8 percent of all birth mothers in Moultrie County in 2001 had no high school degree. That's above the state average of 21.7. Douglas County also was above the state average, with 35.7 percent of all births to mothers without high school degrees. Susan Hayes, director of nursing at the Douglas County Health Department, attributes these high numbers to the large Amish population in Douglas and Moultrie counties. "(The Amish population) plays a huge role in it," she said. "The Amish normally only go to school through eighth grade. They get married earlier and they have children earlier." The figures were compiled by the Illinois Center for Health Statistics and the Illinois Department of Public Health. All other area counties were below the state average: Clark, 14.2; Coles, 15.1; Cumberland, 18.7; Edgar, 16.5; and Shelby, 14.3. Housing costs All area counties were below the state average in the fourth category, which looked at housing costs (specifically, renters unable to afford the fair market rate for a two-bedroom home in 2000). The figures were estimated by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. -- Beth Heldebrandt Copyright © 2003 Journal Gazette and Times-Courier, divisions of Lee Enterprises . |
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(Illinois) Kids Count study finds high infant mortality rates in Coles, Edgar counties
Geez, that was verbose.
The report shows SIDS as down overall but it looks like many that would have been SIDS would likely fall into other new categories. (Actual number may be no better or worse, just reported differently.) I'm a little rusty on my stats. Did anybody see anything that puts the ""abnormalities"" outside of "standard deviation"? While I agree that the standouts should be studied more, and the smoking thing looks like a big problem, I am not sure how I'd like living in some zone that the government is targeting. Getting infant mortality down is laudible, but will some millions of dollars be spent to push infant mortality from ..001 to .0001 per thousand? At what point do we accept some tiny percent as natural and acceptable? Or will infant mortality become another bottomless pit sacred cow for government waste, because it's heart rending? While they blamed smoking, they didn't mention the effects of groundwater contamination or the "Love Canal" or "Brown Fields" toxicity. Good idea! Make caseworkers shovel dioxin tainted soil into portable incinerators to improve our quality of life. How's this playing in the "targeted" counties? |
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