Healthy Women, Healthy Families Releases Results of Year-Long Survey
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 30, 2009 HEALTHY WOMEN, HEALTHY FAMILIES RELEASES RESULTS OF YEAR-LONG SURVEY As Senate Debates Healthcare Bill, Report Highlights Healthcare Priorities of Texas Women AUSTIN – As the Senate opens debate on pending health care legislation this week, Texas women are making their voices – and health care priorities – heard. The Healthy Women, Healthy Families coalition, made up of over 20 grassroots and nonprofit organizations from across the state, announces the release today of Healthy Women, Healthy Families First Year In Review: Trends and Results. This report highlights the healthcare needs and priorities of 758 women from 60 Texas counties surveyed over the course of a year by the coalition. Women were asked to rank 20 health and family services based on the level of need where they live. Following are the top five results, all ranked “urgently” or “much” needed by more than 80% of survey respondents: - Healthcare services for women and families with limited or no insurance. 2008 marked Texas’ second year in a row as the state with the highest rate of uninsured women and children in the nation. One in three Texas women and one in five Texas children do not have health insurance.
- Safe, affordable child care. One out of three families in Texas are headed by a single parent (primarily a single mother), and the current cost of full-time child care averages one-third of a working woman’s annual income.
- Family planning options (birth control, pregnancy testing, flexible education options for teen parents) for women and teens. Birth control is a fact of life for the average U.S. woman – whether married, partnered, or single – who spends approximately 30 years of her life trying not to get pregnant. Furthermore, Texas has the nation’s second-highest rate of teen pregnancy and highest rate of repeat teen births, making access to family planning options a critical healthcare component for thousands of young women across the state.
- Community-based healthcare for elderly and disabled women. According to the Texas Department on Aging, older women are more likely to be widowed, have a lower income than older men, and suffer disproportionately from chronic disabilities and disorders. Disabled women frequently receive substandard reproductive and other types of health care as compared to non-disabled women, and may even be turned away by practitioners because of their disability.
- Medically accurate sex education. 94% of Texas school districts do not provide any human sexuality education beyond the promotion of abstinence.
The complete report, including over 30 excerpts from personal stories shared by survey respondents, is available at www.HealthyWomenHealthyFamilies.org. # # #
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