A new cumulative health study has shown that Massachusetts has the highest rate for violent crime in the Northeast.
The report — called “Common Health for the Commonwealth: Massachusetts Trends in the Determinants of Health” — focuses primarily on preventable health factors facing the Commonwealth, but includes statistics about violence. It was issued by the Massachusetts Health Council at the State House.
“We, as a Commonwealth, have a responsibility to address these issues and help ensure better health quality for all our residents,” said Ralph Fuccillo, president of the Massachusetts Health Council, in a statement.
The 2006 report measures factors such as poverty, access to health care, air pollution and asthma, tobacco use, obesity, suicide and alcohol abuse. According to the report, all health concerns are preventable.
Massachusetts’s violent crime statistic is compared with the Northeast region, including New England, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Violent crime is defined as murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. The 2006 report shows violent crime rate is rising among black and Hispanic female youths. The issue of violence directly affects the medical and behavioral health care services and funding, the report shows.
The Massachusetts Health Council is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization of more than 150 health and public policy related organizations. The report consisted of compiled information from the Bureau of Census, FBI Uniform Crime and studies issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nation Institute of Health, National Institute of Mental Health and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The Massachusetts Health Council is working to combat this issue with new and continuing methods of prevention. Sen. Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge), in conjunction with the Massachusetts Health Council, said at the State House he wants to continue violence prevention with screenings, public education, programming and peer mentoring.
House Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health, Rep. Peter Koutoujian, discussed the domino affect of a violent crime on the health care system. He said a victim may enter the emergency room and may end up needing continued treatment, hospitalization and even long-term emotional support.
“We will continue to bridge gaps between the law enforcement community and health organizations,” Koutoujian said, adding that in the past when violent crime levels were down, there were more police on the streets and more resources in the community.
“Once you’ve been very successful, you tend to relax. We allowed ourselves to relax,” Koutoujian said.
The report found that school violence is on the rise — 5 percent of students surveyed reported they skipped school at least once in the past 30 days because they felt unsafe at school or on their way there or back.
“Kids shouldn’t have to skip school because they’re afraid,” Koutoujian said.
The report included that social factors including poverty, obesity, HIV rates, suicide and tobacco use remained stable compared to the past year. Although the rate of HIV is reported as stable, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Health Council Susan Servais said she is concerned with the increasing number of women contracting HIV.
“We’re not getting the message out,” Servais said.
Rebecca Haag, executive director of AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, said there is a rising number of infections among minority women in Massachusetts. She added that, in particular minority communities, husbands are having homosexual relations without telling their wives.
There is still a number of women contracting HIV from sharing needles despite the Pharmacy Access Bill, passed in June 2006, which allows individuals to purchase clean needles from pharmacies without a prescription.
The 2006 edition of “Common Health for the Commonwealth” also detailed policy recommendations, including reestablishing comprehensive violence prevention iniatives, educating schoolchildren on dating and domestic abuse, expanding Medicaid benefits, tracking environmental impacts and increasing funding for tobacco control programs.
“This isn’t the end,” Moore said. “We can be proud of where we’ve been, but we have a long way to go.”
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