| November 29, 2006 |
Contact:
HRSA Press Office
301-443-3376 |
New HRSA Report Says Rural Children Are Less Likely
to be Breastfed,
More Likely to Live With Smoker
A new HRSA data report indicates that children in urban and rural areas
are equally healthy, with about 84 percent in both groups reported in
excellent or very good health. But children living outside urban areas
are less likely to be breastfed and more likely to live in households
with a smoker, the report says.
Key findings from The
Health and Well-Being of Children in Rural Areas: A Portrait of the
Nation 2005, based on parents’ reports from the National
Survey of Children’s Health, include:
- Children in both large and small rural areas are significantly less
likely to be breastfed for at least six months, as the American Academy
of Pediatrics recommends to boost infant health: 40.5 percent of children
in “urban-focused” areas are breastfed for six months or
more, compared to 31.7 percent of children in large rural areas and
31.4 percent in small rural communities. "Urban-focused,”
according to the survey, refers to metropolitan areas and surrounding
towns with commuter flow to an urban area.
- More than one-third of children in rural areas (37 percent in large
rural areas and 38.1 percent in small rural or isolated areas) live
in households with a smoker, compared to 27.5 percent of urban children.
- Children in rural areas, more likely to be non-Hispanic white, are
also more likely to be poor than those in urban-focused areas. Among
children living in small or isolated areas, 22.9 percent have family
incomes below the federal poverty level, as do 19.8 percent of those
in large rural areas, compared to 17 percent of children in urban
areas.
- School-age children in large and small rural areas are more likely
than urban children to have repeated a grade: 13.1 percent of children
age 6-17 in large rural areas and 13.3 percent of children in small
or isolated rural areas have repeated a grade, compared to 10.8 percent
of children in urban-focused areas.
Of the 72.7 million children in the U.S., 58.2 million live in urban
areas, 7.2 million in large rural areas, and 7.3 million in small rural
or isolated areas, the survey reports. Large rural areas include large
towns with populations of 10,000 to 49,999 and their surrounding areas.
Small or isolated rural areas consist of small towns with populations
of 2,500 to 9,999 and surrounding areas.
The National Survey of Children's Health, supported and developed by
HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, provides information about
the oral, physical and mental health of children from birth to age 17.
Several other survey data books on children’s health assessing
physical activity and overweight, oral health and overall health are
available through the HRSA Information Center, 1-888-Ask-HRSA, or online
at http://mchb.hrsa.gov/data/.
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