A new Kids Count Alaska Data Book, providing a broad picture of the well-being of Alaska's children, is now available in print and online. The book is an annual publication that brings together information from many sources on the health, safety, education, and economic status of Alaska children statewide and by region. It also compares how children in Alaska and across the country are doing. The book is sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which supports similar programs in all 50 states. It was prepared by Virgene Hanna, project director, and other researchers at ISER.
ISER researchers study a range of health-related issues, from costs of healthcare to ways of reducing suicide rates and measures of children’s well-being. They also evaluate health programs. Our capacity to study issues related to Alaskans’ health was expanded in 2015, when the Center for Behavioral Health Research and Services became a part of ISER.
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Stephen Bezruchka of the University of Washington’s School of Public Health will talk about how early life affects our health as adults—and why changes in health policies for the youngest Americans could make us healthier as we age. Dr. Bezruchka will speak from 12 to 1 in the ISER conference room, on the fifth floor of the Diplomacy Building (4500 Diplomacy Drive). Everyone is welcome to attend this talk, co-sponsored by ISER and UAA’s Department of Health Sciences.
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Vic Fischer and Virgene Hanna will be guest speakers at the 2011 Alaska Chapter of The American Planning Association Conference. Vic Fischer will be giving the keynote on November 7 at 8:00 a.m. and Virgene Hanna will be giving a presentation during the Food Systems Planning in Alaska session on November 8 at 1:30 p.m.
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Health-care spending in Alaska reached about $7.5 billion in 2010, according to new estimates by Scott Goldsmith of ISER and Mark Foster of Mark A. Foster and Associates. For comparison, that’s close to half the wellhead value of all the oil produced in Alaska in 2010. The definition of health-care spending is broad, including not only spending for hospitals, doctors, and medical tests, but also prescriptions, nursing homes, medical equipment, and more.
The researchers found: