Honolulu shows cut in teen pregnancy
By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Honolulu received high marks in a national report that said the city has reduced its number of teen pregnancies in an eight-year period.
The Health Improvement Report, which was released today as part of the Population Connection's Kid Friendly Cities Report Card series, graded 165 American cities on their efforts in lowering the rates of teenage births, infant mortality and low birth-weight babies.
Honolulu was ranked 38th out of the 140 cities with populations of 100,000 to 2 million people and received an A-minus, said Brian Dixon, the director of government relations at Population Connection.
The data came from the National Center for Health Statistics.
The top five ranking cities in the report were Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Portland, Maine; Charlotte, N.C.; New Orleans, La. and Raleigh, N.C. The lowest ranked were Eugene, Ore.; Amarillo, Texas; Allentown, Pa.; Provo, Utah, and Madison, Wis.
"The grades for the cities are not exactly like how you would grade a test," Dixon said. "We looked at how each city is improving against itself, and the city's willingness to address the specific health issues."
Honolulu's rate of births by teens declined from 8.2 percent in 1990 to 7.4 percent in 1998, while the national teen pregnancy rate was 12.5 percent in 1998.
Population Connection, a national nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., works to slow population growth and protect the environment.
The group concentrated on teen pregnancy and its risks this year because it affects the stability of the U.S. population, said Tim Cline, director of communications for Population Connection.
"Population is really not about numbers, it's about the quality of life," Cline said. "When kids are having kids, the quality of life is going to suffer. If we can move in a direction where there are fewer teens having babies ... then the quality of life, and the future of our children, will improve dramatically."
Although Honolulu received high ratings, Momi Kamau, maternal and child health chief at the Department of Health said there is always more work that can be done.
"We have worked hard to improve services to teens, women and children, and we have family planning programs," said Kamau. "All of these things helped contribute to our ratings, and it shows how much we worked these past years, but we must continue to to be diligent."
Population Connection has conducted the "Kid Friendly Cities Report Card" series for the past 14 years on public safety, education, environment and other topics. This is the first time the organization has included a report on rates for teen births, infant mortality and low weight births.
"It's important to include the health report because it gives people a sense of what direction other communities are taking," Dixon said. "Other cities can look at what is working in Honolulu and then develop it down to where they are. It allows you to look at yourself and look for models elsewhere."
