PHYSICAL HEALTH
How do New York youth fare in critical physical health indicators?
Here we cover
HEALTH INSURANCE ENROLLMENT, CAUSES OF DEATH, and DEATH RATES in our state. When possible, we compare them to NATIONAL DATA, too.
In 2022, there were roughly
youth under the age of 18
in New York State
who did not have health insurance coverage.
This is about
2%
of the youth
population
in our state.
However, health insurance coverage for our youth was not equally distributed throughout New York State that same year.
Nationwide, in 2022,
firearms were
the leading cause of death
for children, teens, and young adults
under the age of 24.
In recent years, use of firearms played a role on the top three causes of death for 15 to 24-year-olds in New York and nationally:
2. Homicide
Most homicides by firearm occur in males and youth 15 to 24 years of age. Firearm homicides, including from legal intervention, occur disproportionately in communities of marginalized racial and ethnic groups.Therefore, understanding how different communities are differentially impacted by firearm violence is essential for implementing prevention strategies.
3. Suicide
In 2020, the highest rates of firearm suicide were among American Indian and Alaska Native youth nationally.
We can further examine suicide deaths in 2021 by sex for youth aged 15 to 24. New York has suicide rates are lower than many other U.S. jurisdictions, with 10.5 per 100,000 for males and 3.5 per 100,000 for females. Most deaths by suicide occur in male youth. This finding is often attributed to the more lethal methods used by males when compared to females.
