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Hartford Socio-demographic Profile The field of public health seeks not only to monitor the prevalence of disease in the community, but is inherently involved in prevention of disease and injury. This dual role dictates that a critical component of public health involves planning. Good planning, in turn, requires specific information on the population that forms a community. The socio-demographic area of the profile relates to the following information about our community residents; total number of persons, age, race/ethnicity, education level, employment, income and poverty level. The information gleaned from this socio-demographic profile tells us much about the expected public health needs of our community. These data are presented in tables and in graphic formats. The City of Hartford data are compared to the Connecticut State data. Data sources are noted with the tables and graphs. Table 1. Estimated Populations of Hartford and State of Connecticut by Age and Gender, 2000-2001.
Source: U. S. Census Bureau, Census 2000
The estimated total population of the City of Hartford for 2000 is 121,578, down from the 1990 census count of 139,739. Hartford is a relatively young population with 43% of its residents less than 25 years of age, compared with Connecticut at 33% for this age group. (Table 1& Figure 1.) This age difference is also reflected at the other end of the age scale; Hartford with only 9.5% of its population above 64 years, compared with Connecticut State at 13.8% in this older age group. These differences in population age distribution is further reflected in Hartford’s population median age of 30 years, compared with Connecticut State’s at 37 years. (Table 1). The impact of the population’s age distribution on immediate public health services will likely reflect a greater need in the City of Hartford for services for children and young adults, immunization and injury prevention, and services for young women, family planning, prenatal, and obstetric care. There will still be requirements to meet the needs of those with chronic diseases commonly associated with aging.
Table 2. Estimated Populations of Hartford and State of Connecticut by Race / Ethnicity, 2000.
Data Source: U. S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 The City of Hartford has a rich cultural diversity among its residents. Its Hispanic population makes up the largest ethnic group at 40.5% of the total city population, (Table 2 & Figure 2 above), and its Black (African American and Caribbean and Virgin Islander) population comprising a further 36%. This distribution differs from the State of Connecticut which is 77.5% White, 8.7% Black, and 9.4% Hispanic. Socioeconomic status (SES) addresses education, employment and income. Socioeconomic factors can certainly influence the health of the individual, and the community as a whole. Employment in the United States has long been linked to health insurance coverage, which in turn impacts access to health care. Socioeconomic factors also determine living conditions. As will be discussed later under behavioral risks, education and income have a significant correlation with health behaviors. All of these combined, lead socioeconomic status to ultimately be a major factor in the determination of health status. Table 3. Socio-economic Status of Hartford and State of Connecticut Residents
Data Sources : b Connecticut Dept. of Economic and Community Development, Town Profiles. 2000-2001. The social and economic indicators outlined in Table 3 show Hartford to have major issues related to all these measures. This city shares many of the problems associated with larger inner city populations. Hartford’s unemployment rate (4.8%) is almost twice that of the state average (2.3%). Hartford’s low average per capita income of $18,007 is about half that of the state average per capita income of $32,317. The end result is a poverty level among our residents of 31%, which is four times that of the state at 7.9%. These can all be expected to negatively impact the health status of this city’s population. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2003
Hartford's Community Health Partnership
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