Cape Giradeau County Missouri Department of Public Health Community Heatlh Profile

COMMUNITY HEALTH

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Cape Girardeau County
Public Health Center
(573) 335-7846

2007 COMMUNITY HEALTH DATA ANALYSIS

Table of Contents
Overview	Education	Environmental
Public Safety/Domestic Violence	Unintended Injury	Maternal and Child Health Indicators
Prevalence of Infectious Disease	Prevalence of Chronic Disease Risk Factors	Leading Causes of Mortality
Health Care System Indicators	Local Enforcement of Public Health Laws	Community Health Resource Indicators
Summary of Findings for Cape Girardeau County

Education

Higher Education – Drop Out Rate
In 2005 Educational levels in Cape Girardeau County were comparable to the state with similar numbers obtaining high school diplomas (85.6% county vs. 85.0% MO) and bachelors degrees (23.6% county vs. 24.0% MO). The high school dropout rate in Cape Girardeau County has declined or remained constant for all school districts but Cape Girardeau City during the 2002-2006 time period. While the Cape Girardeau City school district had a higher dropout rate in 2006 as compared to 2002 there has been a dramatic decrease in the dropout rate from 2005 to 2006 in this district. In 2006 all school districts in Cape Girardeau County had a lower dropout rate than the State. A survey conducted by the Community Caring Council in 2003, a local community agency (COMPASS survey), indicated that 29.2% of community leader respondents and 29.5% of neighborhood respondents (indicates concern in resident respondent’s own neighborhood) felt overcrowding in schools was a moderate/major concern.

Literacy Rate
Cape Girardeau County has seen a slight shift in the Literacy Rate (3rd & 7th grade reading scores) from 2001–2005. There has been a decrease in the percentage of students in the "satisfactory" category from 2001 (41%) to 2005 (35%). Correspondingly there has also been an increase in the percentage of students in the "unsatisfactory" category during this time period (25% in 2001; 30% in 2005). Within the county the percentage of students in the "proficient" category stayed fairly constant from 2001 (34%) to 2005 (35%). By contrast the state during this time the state experienced an increase in the number of "proficient" students (31% in 2001 to 36% in 2005) and a slight decrease in the number of "unsatisfactory" students (31.6% in 2001 to 29% in 2005). The percentage of students in the "satisfactory" category remained fairly stable from 2001 (37.7%) to 2005 (36%). These statistics suggest a need to improve literacy levels in Cape Girardeau schools. The COMPASS survey indicated that 60.5% of community leaders, 28.1% of neighborhood respondents, and 14.7% of household respondents (indicates concerns in resident respondent’s own household) believed that substandard housing was moderate/major concern.

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