The wait is over! The 2017 Youth Tobacco Survey data have arrived!!

The results from the 2017 Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) for Hawaii high school and middle school students have been added to Hawaii-IBIS! Find out what Hawaii’s keiki think about tobacco use and secondhand smoke, and how their own tobacco use has changed over time. Here are a few highlights….

• In Hawaii, individuals must be 21 years of age to purchase tobacco products. However, less than 1 in 5 middle school students who tried to purchase cigarettes in the past month were refused the sale.

• More than 70% of high school students and 80% of middle school students agree with the statement that all e-cigarettes are dangerous.

• Over the past decade, the percent of high school students who report seeing actors in movies and TV smoking has declined by over 30%.

• Among all middle school students, 30% report having at least one friend who uses e-cigarettes. Among middle school students who use e-cigarettes, more than 90% report having at least one friend who also uses them.

Use Hawaii-IBIS to explore more of the results. Also, check Hawaii Health Matters and the Tobacco Use Prevention & Control Dashboard, which tracks the progress of the state toward the goals of the five-year strategic plan laid out by the Tobacco Prevention & Education Program in the Hawaii State Department of Health.

The 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data are here!

The results from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) are now available on Hawaii-IBIS.  Data are available for both high school and middle school students across the state.  Use Hawaii-IBIS to explore the data by gender, race/ethnicity, and grade, for the state or by county.

Here are some of the highlights from the 2017 Hawaii data:

• About 1 in 10 high school females are obese, compared to 1 in 6 high school males. Obese youth are at risk for multiple health problems, including diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol.  Losing weight, in addition to a healthy diet, helps prevent chronic diseases and improves quality of life.

• Almost half of high school students in Hawaii and Maui counties report going to physical education classes at least once a week in school. Regular physical activity among adolescents helps improve bone health, body weight and composition, physical fitness, and mental health.

• More than 10% of middle school students did not eat breakfast on any day in the prior week. Youth who eat breakfast have more energy and do better in school than those who start the day on an empty stomach.

• The percent of middle school students who have ever used an electronic smoking device increased in Hawaii County by more than 25% between 2015 and 2017, from 28% to 36%. These devices are unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration; the health consequences of their use are unknown.

For more information on the health of Hawaii’s youth, check out the YRBS data on both websites from the Hawaii Health Data Warehouse.  On Hawaii-IBIS, users can manipulate the data to explore health indicators in their populations of interest.  Alternatively, Hawaii Health Matters provides health data with more context and helpful resources.

Follow us on Facebook for interesting facts about health in Hawaii!

Hot off the press! The BRFSS 2016 data are on Hawaii-IBIS!

Check out most recent data from the Hawaii Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).  Learn the latest about health-related behaviors, conditions, and the use of preventive services among Hawaii’s adults on the Hawaii Indicator-Based Information System (Hawaii-IBIS), the data tool that puts the power in your hands!

Here are some of the latest findings from the 2016 BRFSS:

Almost 80% of women aged 50 years or older had a mammogram in the previous two years.  Mammograms are important for the early detection of breast cancer.  Recommendations for the age to start getting mammograms vary, but women aged 50 years and older should be getting one every two years.

The proportion of adults who smoke cigarettes continues to decline, from almost 17% in 2011 to 13% in 2016.  This is more than a 20% decrease in five years!  However, certain subsets of the population continue to smoke at high rates.  Almost 19% of Native Hawaiian males are current cigarette smokers.

Almost 10% of the population on the neighbor islands reported that, in the past year, they did not go to a doctor when they needed to because of the cost.  Access to affordable health care is essential for maintaining good health and preventing disease.

Adults living on Oahu are less likely to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night compared to residents of the neighbor islands.  Getting adequate sleep is an essential component of good health.

Check out Hawaii-IBIS for more results.  For those of you who were used to using the PDF reports on HHDW.org, don’t despair!  In addition to the brief tutorial on the Hawaii-IBIS home page, we offer trainings to learn about the IBIS system and how to use it to find the data you need.  You can request a demonstration here.  Be sure to check out the latest data on our sister site, Hawaii Health Matters!

Now available on Hawaii-IBIS: the 2014 PRAMS data!

The 2014 data for the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) are now available.  Use the Hawaii-IBIS data tool to explore the attitudes and experiences of women in Hawaii who have recently given birth.

Here are some highlights from the 2014 PRAMS data for Hawaii:

Almost half of pregnant women in Hawaii who received prenatal care used private insurance to cover the cost.  Affordable health care that provides maternity coverage is important to the health of both mother and child.

The rate of pregnant women in Hawaii who consumed alcohol during the third trimester of pregnancy continues to rise, from less than 5% in 2000 to almost 9% in 2014.  Alcohol exposure during pregnancy is a leading cause for developmental disabilities and birth defects in infants.

Although 69% of women that smoked before pregnancy quit by the last trimester in 2014, nearly 2 in 5 reported smoking postpartum. Smoking during pregnancy is a strong risk for preterm delivery and exposure to smoking in the early months of life raises the risks of infant death and other illness.

The burden of diabetes continues to grow with 1 in 7 women reporting gestational diabetes during their pregnancy, which puts them at increased risk of developing chronic diabetes later in life. It is further estimated that 3.6% of mothers with a recent live birth have chronic diabetes before pregnancy in 2014, which is up from 2.6% in 2012. Diabetes is a growing epidemic in the state and its prevention across the life course, including during pregnancy, can result in reduction of its associated morbidity, mortality, and health care costs.

Enrollment in WIC during pregnancy has recently declined with only 38.9% of women in 2014 compared to 45.8% in 2012. WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) provides nutritional assistance to low-income pregnant and postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five.

To learn more about the health of Hawaii’s mothers and infants, check out our sister site, Hawaii Health Matters.  There you will also find a series of maternal and child health Quick Fact Reports for the state of Hawaii.

2013 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System data are here!

The 2013 data for the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) is now available.  This survey is a vital source of information about the health of Hawaii’s mothers and their infants.

Here are some highlights from the 2013 PRAMS data for Hawaii:

Almost 90% of pregnant women in Hawaii are beginning prenatal care in their first trimester. This is an increase of almost 12% since 2000. Women who receive early and adequate prenatal care increase their chances of birthing a healthy baby.

Approximately 1 in 4 pregnant women in Hawaii attended a childbirth class during their pregnancy. Younger mothers were significantly less likely to attend a class. Younger, unexperienced mothers might benefit most from childbirth classes, as they provide important information about labor and delivery.

The percent of pregnant women in Hawaii who report drinking alcohol in the last trimester of their pregnancy has steadily increased from 200 to 2013. On Kauai, over 1 in 10 pregnant women reported consuming alcohol during their last trimester. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy increases the chances of birth defects, developmental disabilities, and premature birth.

To learn more about the health of Hawaii’s mothers and infants, check out our sister site, Hawaii Health Matters. Also, the PRAMS data will soon be available on our new data tool, the Hawaii Indicator-Based Information System (Hawaii-IBIS)! Hawaii-IBIS gives you the power to define your search and pinpoint the data you need. We will notify users when the PRAMS data are available on Hawaii-IBIS.