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Esta página no está disponible en español. Health & Medicine Week Health Status In Puerto Rico Improving, Secretary Of Health Says July 5, 2004 2004 JUL 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The health situation of people in Puerto Rico is improving markedly as a result of better promotion and education efforts, according to Dr. Johnny V. Rullan, secretary of health of Puerto Rico. Speaking at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Rullan said reforms in the health sector giving greater access to health facilities were combined with a "Health Recommends" campaign for better nutrition, physical activity, smoking cessation and stress relief to improve health indicators. The Health Department convinced restaurants, including fast-food places, to offer heart-healthy menus showing a red heart next to the healthy items, Rullan recounted. The restaurants found that sales of those items increased strikingly and the department received a distinguished public health service award for its health-promotion efforts, he said. "We don't believe in health fairs because they're usually one-shot efforts. Instead, we've launched wellness programs in 300 communities," using applied field epidemiology, electronic health information, and much better data collection and integration to focus on solving the most prevalent health problems, he said. With a population of 3.8 million, Puerto Rico achieved a reduction in infant mortality from 19 deaths per 1000 live births in 1980 to 9.2 deaths per 1000 last year, and its average life expectancy is now 76 years, he said. However, women's life expectancy is 8 years higher than men's, which has not risen over the past 30 years, he noted. The leading causes of death in Puerto Rico are heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertensive diseases and accidents. These rankings led health officials to launch health promotion and prevention efforts to reduce the top four causes, and to launch its Healthy People 2010 program along with disease management efforts focusing on asthma, diabetes, hypertension and heart problems, Rullan said. The department is also closely tracking health expenditures and linking them electronically with health status indicators, with the aim of computerizing all health information, he said. "We're asking doctors to get rid of their pencils because that data creates an island," Rullan said. "We want to have all the information in electronic form," he said. This article was prepared by Health & Medicine Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2004, Health & Medicine Week via NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net.
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