Over the last century, the United States has made significant progress in reducing the burden of disease and death due to both infectious diseases and chronic diseases. Yet deaths attributable to chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer remain prominent challenges, due in part to the aging of the population and also to the growing proportion of adults who are overweight and obese. Furthermore, the distribution of disease and mortality in the United States is differentially distributed by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic position, indicating opportunities for targeted disease prevention. The incidence and prevalence of disease in our community are good indicators of the overall health of the Greater Dallas Area. Moreover, the incidence and prevalence rates can also be used to benchmark, track, and evaluate the efficacy of the preventative strategies that have been implemented to reduce the effects of disease. This aspiration includes indicators that report the prevalence of certain diseases, injuries, and deaths that contribute to the mortality and morbidity of Greater Dallas Area residents.
This aspiration presents data and information on five indicators, which are listed in the grey panel on the right side of this page. Specifically, the five indicators within this aspiration report the following:
- Leading causes of hospitalization: Data reporting the leading causes of hospitalization in the Dallas area, as reported by the Dallas/Fort Worth Hospital Council (DFWHC) in its annual community checkups
- Leading causes of death: Data regarding the mortality experience of residents of the Dallas area from the Dallas/ Fort Worth Hospital Council and the Texas Department of State Health Services
- HIV & STDs: Data reporting the number of new Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases as well as the number of people living with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Dallas County and the United States as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and the Texas Department of State Health Services
- Infectious conditions: Data regarding the age-adjusted rate of infection from a variety of diseases in Dallas County, as well as the number of deaths attributed to these conditions. The data is compiled by the Dallas/Fort Worth Hospital Council (DFWHC) and reported in the Dallas County Community Health Check Up
- Preventable diseases: Data regarding the number and age-adjusted rate of deaths caused by preventable diseases in Dallas County, Collin County, Denton County, Tarrant County, and Texas in 2005. The causes of death are classified according to the ICD-10 system by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS)
- Drug- and violence-related injuries: Data examining substance abuse-related motor vehicle injury accidents in Dallas County and surrounding counties from multiple sources, including federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics; state agencies including the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Texas Department of State Health Services, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; and local groups such as the Dallas County Child Protective Services, Head Start of Greater Dallas, and the Dallas Police Department
- Drug- and violence-related deaths: Data reporting on alcohol- and drug-related fatal motor vehicle accidents in the Dallas area, as derived from the same sources as those listed above for drug- and violence-related injuries