H&S 4: COMMON PREVENTABLE DISEASES AND CONDITIONS

UTAH WILL REDUCE ILLNESS, DISABILITY, AND DEATH FROM COMMON PREVENTABLE DISEASES AND CONDITIONS.

Other Information:

• Motor vehicle traffic crashes are the leading cause of injury death in Utah, causing approximately 300 deaths each year, 25,000 emergency department visits, and almost $27 million a year in hospital charges. The most important factors contributing to motor vehicle traffic crash injuries are failure to use seat belts, excessive speed, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Other injuries, such as suicide, falls, and firearm-related injuries, account for a significant proportion of deaths among Utahns. • Utah's rates of the food-borne infections salmonellosis and E-coli have decreased in the last two to three years. However, Utah's local health departments have only half the staff they need to perform restaurant inspections, leaving Utahns at greater risk for serious food-borne illnesses. • Other serious infections, such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, continue to infect many Utahns each year. Chlamydia is the most frequently reported sexually transmitted disease in Utah and the U.S. Utah's chlamydia rates are less than half of the U.S. rates, but Utah still reports over 2,500 cases annually. • Utah's infant mortality rate (4.8 per 1,000 live births, 2001) is lower than that of the U.S. and among the lowest of all states. Interventions, such as prenatal care, newborn intensive care, and "back sleeping" to prevent sudden infant death syndrome, have been among public health's greatest successes. • The UDOH works to reduce illness, disability, and death from chronic conditions by promoting healthy lifestyles, screening for diseases such as heart disease and cancer; and by educating consumers, providers and others about effective treatment and management strategies for chronic diseases such as arthritis, asthma, and diabetes.

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