Health status of southern Arizona border counties: a Healthy Border 2010 midterm review.

OBJECTIVE

The region on the United States (US) side of the US-Mexico border consists of 44 counties in four states; populations on both sides of the border have similar health problems. Healthy Border 2010: An Agenda for Improving Health on the US-Mexico Border (HB 2010) is a binational agenda of health promotion and disease prevention for individuals in the region. This study reports on the health status of the four southern Arizona border counties.

METHODS

Data on health indicators for Cochise, Pima, Santa Cruz, and Yuma Counties were collected from the Arizona Department of Health Services Vital Records and Statistics. Progress was calculated as a percentage made toward or away from the 2010 target. Comparisons were made between the border counties and Arizona.

RESULTS

Progress toward the HB 2010 targets varied among the border counties. All border counties made progress toward the targets with the cervical cancer, hepatitis A, and teenage birthrate objectives. Most border counties moved toward the goals for breast cancer, diabetes mortality, tuberculosis, motor vehicle crashes, infant mortality from congenital abnormalities, and prenatal care. Border counties moved away from the target with the human immunodeficiency virus and infant mortality objectives.

CONCLUSIONS

Assessment of the HB 2010 objectives provided a comprehensive description of the health status of the population. Although the southern Arizona border counties have shown improvement in some areas, monitoring is still needed to identify the disparities that remain.