324773
Bridging the Gap: Disparities in Smoking Rates across Race, Sex, Education, and Income
purpose: We examined the change in the smoking rates over a 10 year period by demographic and geographic characteristics.
methods: National data, with state specific rates, compiled from the America’s Health Rankings reports (years 2004-2013) was analyzed to determine the change in smoking rates over time and the change in disparities within race, sex, education, and income groups.
results: West Virginia has the highest rate of smoking (27.3%) while Utah has the lowest (10.3%). The largest gaps in smoking rates between the groups with the lowest and highest rates are seen in education and income, with spreads of 19.6 and 17.9 percentage points, respectively. College graduates are less likely to smoke than individuals with less than a high school education. Similarly, individuals with an annual income of >$75,000 are less likely to smoke than those earning <$25,000. Over the 10 year period, progress was seen in reducing the gap between educational groups by 2.5 percentage points. The gap between race, sex and income groups increased. The overall smoking rates decreased, but the gaps within demographics remain.
conclusions: To effectively address the smoking rates across states, disparities that exist across demographic characteristics must be reduced.
Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health educationAssessment of individual and community needs for health education
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Identify disparities in smoking rates across geographic and demographic characteristics
Evaluate the change in smoking rates over a ten-year period across the geographic and demographic characteristic
Keyword(s): Tobacco Use, Health Disparities/Inequities
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I perform graduate research for the Scientific Advisory Committee on America's Health Rankings, the longest-running, comprehensive perspective of our nation's health, state by state, and the source of the subject matter for this abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? Yes
| Name of Organization | Clinical/Research Area | Type of relationship |
|---|---|---|
| America's Health Rankings | health data analysis | Advisory Committee/Board |
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.