B. Health Status Information

This section of the Community Health Profile contains health status information regarding San Mateo County residents. This information includes statistics related to natality, mortality, morbidity, prevalence of chronic conditions, diseases and disabilities, and injuries. While statistics relating to natality and mortality were readily available, less statistical information was accessible regarding the prevalence of chronic conditions and diseases.

The materials in this chapter are drawn from numerous health documents, including San Mateo County Health Services Agency's, "Healthy San Mateo 2000," "Health Status indicators, Fall 1994, and the State of California Department of Health Services and the California Conferences of Local Health Officers County Health Status, 1994. For select statistics, these documents contain comparative statistics for the State of California as well as the year 2000 National Objective benchmarks.

The data in this chapter reveal that on an overall basis, the county's health status compares favorably to the State of California's. However, many of the statistics indicate significant differences in health status across the racial and ethnic groups within San Mateo County.