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Public Health reports and publications

Oct. 2019
Trends and Characteristics in Marijuana Use Among Public School Students — King County, Washington, 2004–2016
Youth marijuana use can have adverse health outcomes. However, reports from Colorado, Oregon, and Washington indicate no statewide increase in youth marijuana use following retail legalization for adults.

REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS BY CATEGORY

  • Sweetened Beverage Tax Evaluation Reports
    Section 5B of the ordinance that created the Sweetened Beverage Tax (Ordinance 125324) requires the City to assess the impact of the tax on economic outcomes, health behaviors, intermediate health outcomes, the identification and assessment of food deserts, as well as effectiveness and efficiency of the food bank network in the City. The Seattle Office of the City Auditor is contracting with Public Health – Seattle & King County to complete a five-year evaluation of the Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT). The SBT Evaluation Team includes academic researchers and public health practitioners; SBT evaluation reports and materials can be viewed at the link above.

  • Healthy Food Availability & Food Bank Network Report and Slides
    This report serves as a resource for people and organizations interested in building equitable access to healthy food in Seattle. It provides a comprehensive and updated snapshot of what access to healthy food looks like in Seattle. This report concludes the report required by Ordinance 125324 to assess access to healthy food and the food bank network in Seattle.

  • Communities Count: Social and health indicators across King County
    Includes sections on basic needs and social well-being, positive development through life stages, safety and health, community strength, natural and built environment, and arts and culture.

September 2012
Youth Consumption of Sugary Drinks in King County
The consumption of sugary drinks has been linked to risks for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and hypertension. Because one in five youth in King County is overweight or obese, reducing the amount of sugary drinks young people consume is a key strategy for improving health.

March 2012
Youth Obesity in King County
Obesity is a national problem that has significant costs to the health care system and society as a whole. The direct medical cost of obesity in adults is about $500 million in King County annually. In King County, whether our children are likely to be overweight or obese differs by gender, race/ethnicity, and where children live.

March 2002
Overweight and Obesity in King County
The percentage of King County residents who are overweight or obese has risen rapidly over the last 15 years. By 2001, one in every two King County adults were either overweight or obese.

April 2007
Diabetes in King County
The number of people in King County with diabetes doubled in the past decade. Such a rapid increase in the occurrence of a chronic illness is very rare. Diabetes now affects 84,000 adults in King County or 5.8% of the adult population.

November 1999
Diabetes in King County
Diabetes is a chronic disease in which insulin deficiency and/or resistance to insulin action leads to a high level of sugar in the blood. The prevalence of diabetes has been increasing, especially in minority populations.

November 2005
Asthma in King County
The impact of asthma has increased markedly over the past two decades, making it a leading public health issue. It is the most common chronic childhood illness and accounts for large numbers of missed school and work days for children and their caregivers.

February 1998
Childhood Asthma Hospitalizations, King County, 1987-1996
Over the previous 10 years, childhood hospitalizations for asthma have been increasing in King County, even as the rate of all other childhood hospitalizations have decreased.

January 2001
Cancer on Vashon-Maury Island
This report is a follow-up to a July, 2000 report on arsenic, cadmium and lead contamination of soils on Vashon-Maury Island (VMI) and the nearby areas of the mainland. It is a review of available cancer incidence (defined as new cases) and mortality (deaths) data for types of cancer that have been related to arsenic exposure.

  • 1995-2004
    The Uninsured in King County
    This report describes the lack of health insurance in King County for the last 10 years of available data (1995-2004). The increasing burden falls on the entire safety net, with community health centers, public health centers and hospitals trying to cope with the health care costs of clients who are uninsured or underinsured.

  • 1991-1998
    The Uninsured in King County
    In King County, disparities in insurance coverage exist by income, race and age. Lower-income adults (in households earning less than $25,000/year) are 10 times more likely to lack coverage than those with higher incomes ($50,000 or more per year), with trend data indicating that disparities in insurance coverage have increased since 1991.

Visit Public Health's Tobacco Prevention website for other facts and data

The 2017 Regional Health Needs Inventory report of HealthierHere (formerly King County Accountable Community of Health) contains insights about King County's Medicaid population with a focus on children and adults age 18-64.

The table below is an inventory of archived data resources produced to assist HealthierHere develop Medicaid Transformation projects. Newly developed data resources are now posted to HealthierHere’s data website.

For questions or more information, please contact Eli Kern, Public Health Epidemiologist at eli.kern@kingcounty.gov.

Data resource Description Geography Last updated