The 2024 Health of Women and Children Report by America’s Health Rankings is an annual report that provides a comprehensive overview of the health and well-being of women and children in the United States, with a focus on highlighting disparities. This year’s report analyzed 123 health indicators from 33 different data sources, introducing new indicators for child mental health conditions and treatment. Key findings included an overall decrease in maternal health with child mortality increasing despite some improvements in measures of child health.
Key national findings from the 2024 report include:
- Maternal mortality increased by 34% (from 17.3 to 23.2 deaths per 100,000 live births) from 2014-2018 to 2018-2022 (pg. 4).
- Women experienced increases in asthma, obesity, and depression rates. Asthma rates rose by 9% (from 11.7% to 12.7%), obesity by 8% (from 30.4% to 32.7%), and depression by 11% (from 26.1% to 29.1%) from 2019–2020 to 2021–2022 (pg. 4, 16).
- The teen suicide rate decreased by 6% (from 11.2 to 10.5 deaths per 100,000 adolescents ages 15-19) from 2017–2019 to 2020–2022 (pg. 4).
- Rates of overweight or obese youth declined by 6% (from 33.2% to 31.1% of youth ages 10-17) from 2020–2021 and 2022–2023 (pg. 4).
The report also ranked the health of women and children in each state, providing comparisons across states. Below are key findings for Hawaiʻi:
- Hawaiʻi ranked 8th in overall health for women and children and ranked as having the best child health outcomes of any state.
- Hawaiʻi has the least affordable child care in the nation, with 18% of a median household income in Hawaiʻi needed for the average cost of child care, compared to 11.7% nationally.
- Women in Hawaiʻi have the highest rate of insufficient sleep in the US, with 42.7% of women in Hawaiʻi feeling that they haven’t had sufficient sleep in the past 30 days compared to 36.5% nationally.
Hawaiʻi’s full state summary page can be viewed here.
