Two-thirds of all
deaths in North Carolina
result from chronic disease and injury.
The FIVE leading causes of deathin North Carolina:
Cancer HeartDisease
ChronicLung
Disease
Stroke Injuryand
Violence
Many of these deaths are due to preventable causes such as tobacco use, physical inactivity and poor nutrition.
The Chronic Disease and Injury Section uses effective strategies to reduce the burden of chronic diseaseand injury across the life span.
In North Carolina...
16%of 10-to 17-year
olds are obese.
27% of middleand high school students
are exposed tosecondhand
smoke in the home.
Youth and young adults
ages 10-24 havethe highest rates of
self-inflictedinjury requiring
hospitalization or a visit toan emergency department.
9% of high schoolstudents report ever
having beenphysicallyforced to havesexual intercourse.
Alcohol is
involved in 1/3of fatal motor
vehicle crashes.
More than 6 in 10adults are overweight
or obese.
Excessweight in adults
costs over
$17.6billion
each year in medical costsand lost productivity.
Tobacco useis the leading cause of preventable death,responsible for more
than 14,000deaths each year.
For each death, 30more people aresick or disabled.
Diabetesresults in
617,000missed days of work
per year among adults.
4 in 10North Carolinians
will developcancer
during their lifetime.
Heart diseaseand strokeare responsible for
1 out ofevery 7hospital admissions,accounting for over$5 billion
in hospital chargeseach year.
RESPONSEPROBLEM IMPACT
CH
ILD
HO
OD
AD
UL
TH
OO
D
Through ActiveRoutes to School,
we encourage physicalactivity by partnering with the
N.C. Department of Transportationto create safe walking and
biking routes to and from school.
Through oursmoke-freemulti-unit
housing initiative,we provide technical
assistance to help housingmanagement companies adopt
smoke-free policies.
ThroughIt’s OK 2 Ask,
we raise awareness aboutsuicide prevention, and wetrain youth and individuals
who interact with youthto recognize and respond
to the warning signs of suicide.
Through the N.C.Rape Preventionand Education
Program, we fund localagencies to develop sexualviolence prevention policies
and provide training andeducation in their
communities.
Through theBreath AlcoholTesting MobileUnit Program,
the nation’s largest programof its kind, we utilize six
specialized vehiclesto process impaired
drivers at DWI checkpoints.
ThroughQuitlineNC,
1-800-QUIT-NOW,we provide a free and
confidential phone servicestaffed by expert coachesto help North Carolinians
quit using tobacco.
Through theN.C. Diabetes
EducationRecognition
Program,we increase access
to diabetes self-managementeducation and training.
Through the N.C.ComprehensiveCancer Control
Plan, we addressprevention, early detection,
care and treatment.Through the Breastand Cervical
Cancer ControlProgram, we screen
low-income women ages 40-64for breast and cervical cancer.
ThroughN.C.
WISEWOMAN, we offer screenings
and counseling to improvecardiovascular health.
Through theN.C. Stroke
CareCollaborative,we improve the qualityof acute stroke care.
From 2013 to 2014, the percentof affordable housing
properties that wentsmoke-free
increased from
16.5% to
27.9%.
From 2009 to 2014, we providedsuicide prevention and relatedtrainings to over 2,400
individuals, the majorityof whom were schoolstaff members.
From 2012 to 2013, weprovided over 1,800educational
sessions on sexualviolence prevention to nearly
13,000 studentsin N.C. schools.
Since October 1996, theBreath Alcohol Testing Mobile
Units have been usedat more than
3,000 DWI
checkpoints, resultingin nearly
16,000 arrests.
Since 2008, over
14,000North Carolinians have
participated in the program.7 out of 10
participants maintainedweight lost during the
program or lostadditional weight
after the program ended.
Current fundingallows us to reach
1%of North Carolina’s1,540,000
tobacco users.
Since 2006, more than
7,000people with
diabetes have beeneducated and trained
in 48 counties.
From July 2013through June 2014,
more than
13,000women received
breast and cervicalscreenings
at 93 localhealth
agencies.
In 2012, over22,000
individuals with strokewere treated in
hospitals participatingin the N.C. Stroke CareCollaborative program.
This accounted for75% of all
strokeadmissions.
ChronicDisease and
Injury Section
North CarolinaDivision of
Public Health
State of North Carolina | Pat McCrory, Governor | Department of Health and Human Services | Aldona Z. Wos, M.D., Secretary
www.ncdhhs.gov | N.C. DHHS is an equal opportunity employer and provider. 1/15
References available upon request.www.publichealth.nc.gov/chronicdiseaseandinjury
From 2013 to 2014, the number ofschools registered for Walkto School Day eventsthrough Active Routes to School
nearly doubled,increasing from
84 to 157.
H
Through Eat Smart,Move More,Weigh Less,
we partner with NC Stateto offer real-time, online classesthat help North Carolinians make
smart choices about nutritionand physical activity.
