In case you missed them, presented below are past Monthly Spotlights, highlighting topics of interest and relevant data available on Quick Health Data Online.

Spotlight: May 11-17 is National Women's Health Week

The theme for National Women's Health Week is "It's your time: Get Inspired. Get Healthy." During the week, and throughout the month, we are focusing on the preventive measures women can take to improve their physical and mental health and prevent disease.

Quick Health Data Online offers many different types of data related to Women's Health Week.
Click on the topics below to see how your state compares:

• Routine checkups,
• Obesity,
• Exercise,
• Mental Health,
• Colonoscopy,
• Mammography, and
• Pap tests.

Data can be used to generate maps and tables at the state and county levels, such as this one, which presents state-level data on routine check-ups for women.

Spotlight: April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, April provides an opportunity to focus awareness on sexual violence and its prevention. Sexual Assault is defined as any kind of sexual activity that is unwanted, enacted by one person on another without consent. While anyone can be a victim of sexual assault, women and girls are more likely than males to experience violence of this type. Sexual assault is most often committed by someone known to the victim such as a spouse, family member, co-worker, friend or acquaintance, although it can also be committed by a stranger.

Quick Health Data Online offers a variety of data related to sexual assault including:

• Annual reported rapes and rape rates,
• Percent of adults reporting attempted and forced non-consensual sex, and
• Adolescents reporting being forced to have sex against their will.

The system can generate maps, tables and charts such as this one, which presents the percentage of adult women reporting ever having someone attempt to have or being forced to have non-consensual sex.

Spotlight: March 10th is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Sponsored by the Office of Women's Health, this is a day to raise awareness among women and girls about HIV/AIDS, to stress the importance of HIV testing, and to promote healthy behaviors that reduce the risk of HIV infection. Historically, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has affected more men than women, but women are being increasingly affected. Since 1985 the proportion of estimated AIDS cases diagnosed among women has more than tripled, from 8% in 1985 to 27% in 2005. Although each year more men than women become infected with HIV, this gap is slowly closing.

Quick Health Data Online offers a variety of data specific to HIV/AIDS and risk factors for infection:

• Newly diagnosed HIV and AIDS case counts and rates,
• HIV-related death rates and counts,
• Adult HIV testing, and
• Adolescent sexual activity and related risk factors.

The system can generate maps, tables and charts such as this one, which presents the percentage of adolescent males and females reporting condom use during their most recent sexual activity.

Spotlight: February is Heart Health Month

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women and is also a major cause of disability. Heart diseases include high blood pressure, coronary heart disease (heart attack and angina), congestive heart failure, stroke, and congenital heart defects. Risk factors that increase the chances of developing heart disease include smoking, hypertension, diabetes, physical inactivity, obesity and poor diet.

Quick Health Data Online offers a variety of data specific to heart disease and risk factors for developing heart disease including:

• Mortality: single year and three-year average counts and rates for heart disease, ischemic heart disease coronary heart disease, hypertension and stroke
• Morbidity: prevalence of stroke, heart disease and heart attack
• Risk Factors: prevalence of smoking, hypertension, diabetes, physical inactivity, obesity and fruit and vegetable consumption.

Data are available at the state and county levels and may be used to generate tables, charts and maps such as these presenting female coronary heart disease (CHD) death rates in the US Southeast and female CHD death rates by race. Data are presented over time to allow for analysis of trends and progress towards specific Healthy People 2010 objectives.

Spotlight: January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

Every year, over 11,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer and over 3,900 women die from the disease. Early detection of cervical cancer is possible through Pap tests, which can detect the disease in its earliest, most treatable stages. Current recommendations are for sexually active women to receive a Pap test at least every three years and more frequently if certain risk factors are present.

Quick Health Data Online offers a variety of data specific to cervical cancer including:

• Cervical cancer morbidity, newly diagnosed cases and rates,
• Cervical cancer mortality, single year and three-year average counts and rates,
• Percent women reporting having a pap test ever and within three years.

Data are presented over time to allow for analysis of trends and progress towards specific Healthy People 2010 objectives.

Spotlight: December 1 is World AIDS Day

Established by the World Health Organization in 1988, World AIDS Day serves to focus global attention on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Internationally, an estimated 38.6 million people worldwide were living with HIV at the end of 2005, and more than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981. In the US, an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 indiviudals are HIV- positive, and approximately 40,000 new infections occur every year.

Quick Health Data Online offers a variety of data specific to HIV and AIDS including:

• Counts and rates of newly diagnosed HIV and AIDS cases,
• HIV mortality counts and rates,
• HIV-positive incarcerated population, and
• Individuals receiving HIV tests.

The system can generate graphs and data tables on issues such as 3-year average HIV death rates among men and women age 25-44, the percent of individuals reporting ever having an HIV test, and newly diagnosed AIDS cases by gender.

Spotlight: November is American Diabetes Month

Diabetes is widely recognized as one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. Since 1999, diabetes has been reported as the sixth leading cause of death for both males and females. It is also associated with long-term complications which include blindness, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputations, nerve damage, and pregnancy complications.

Quick Health Data Online offers a variety of data specific to diabetes morbidity, mortality and risk factors. Relevant variables available on the system include:

• Diabetes risk factors including overweight, obesity, and physical activity,
• Diabetes diagnoses (single year and three-year averages), and
• Diabetes mortality (single year and three-year average counts and rates),

The system can generate maps and data tables such as these, which present data on the percent of women and men reporting diabetes over time, the percent of women reporting obesity and diabetes by race, and the percent of women in the US diagnosed with diabetes, by state with detailed breakout of Region IV.

Spotlight: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States and the second most common cause of cancer deaths (after lung cancer). Early detection through mammograms and clinical or self exams can contriubte to early treatment and better health outcomes. Quick Health Data Online offers detailed information about breast cancer screening, diagnoses and deaths. Variables available on the system include:

• Percent of women age 40 and older with mammogram in the past 2 years,
• Percent of women reporting ever having a clinical exam,
• Annual breast cancer incidence and rates, and
• Breast cancer deaths, death rates, and age-adjusted death rates.

The system can generate maps and data tables such as these, which present data on breast cancer mortality by race and and the percent of women age 40 and over with a mammogram in the past 2 years.

Spotlight: September is National Cholesterol Awareness Month

High blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, two leading causes of death in the United States. Lowering cholesterol levels can reduce the risk of heart disease and death among persons with or without heart disease. Quick Health Data Online features a number of data elements related to cholesterol health.

Among these are:

• Percent adults having checked cholesterol ever and in the past 5 years,
• Percent adults ever diagnosed with high cholesterol,
• Number of heart disease and stroke-related deaths, and
• Heart disease and stroke death rate and age adjusted death rate.

The system can generate maps and data tables such as these, which present data on the percent of women reporting cholesterol screening in the past 5 years and the percent of women diagnosed with high cholesterol, by state and by race.

Spotlight: August 1-7 is World Breastfeeding Week

Both babies and mothers gain many benefits from breastfeeding. Breast milk is easy to digest and contains antibodies that can protect infants from bacterial and viral infections. Research also indicates that women who breastfeed may benefit from lower rates of certain breast and ovarian cancers. Quick Health Data Online features a number of data elements of interest when examining breastfeeding practices in the US.
Among these are:

• Percent of women ever breastfeeding,
• Percent of women breastfeeding exclusively at 3 and 6 months, and
• Percent of women breastfeeding at 6 and 12 months.

The system can generate maps and tables such as these , which present data on the percent of women ever breastfeeding and breastfeeding at 6 and 12 months.

Spotlight: July is Ultraviolet (UV) Safety Month

Exposure to the sun's rays (UV exposure) can cause damage to the skin. The short-term results of unprotected exposure to UV rays are sunburn and tanning. Long-term exposure may cause early wrinkles, loss of skin elasticity, dark patches and skin cancer. Quick Health Data Online provides several types of data related to UV safety.
The site includes information on:

• Sunburns in the past 12 months - single year crude rates and single year age-adjusted rates,
• Melanoma morbidity - single-year case counts and three-year average case counts, and
• Melanoma morbidity rates - single-year crude rates, single-year age-adjusted rates, and three-year average crude rates.

The system can generate maps and tables such as this one, which presents age-adjusted state-level rates of sunburn within the past 12 months.

Spotlight: June is National Safety Month

This year National Safety Month's theme is "Celebrating Safe Communities." A safe community comes together to promote safe and healthy behaviors that protect people from hurt and harm in all aspects of their lives. Quick Health Data Online offers many different types of data that may be of interest in exploring National Safety Month.
The site includes information on:

• Adult and adolescent drinking and driving,
• Seatbelt use,
• Adolescent bicycle helmet use,
• Motor vehicle accident deaths, and
• Falls and fall-related injuries.

The system can generate charts and tables such as this, which presents state-level data on adolescent behaviors related to drinking and driving and riding with a driver who had been drinking, by gender.

Spotlight: May 13-19 is National Women's Health Week

The theme for National Women's Health Week is "It's Your Time: Pamper Your Mind, Body and Spirit." During the week, and throughout the month, we are focusing on the preventive measures women can take to improve their physical and mental health and prevent disease.

Quick Health Data Online offers many different types of data related to Women's Health Week.

Items related to this year's theme include:

• Routine checkups,
• Obesity,
• Fruit and vegetable consumption,
• Colonoscopy,
• Mammography, and
• Pap tests.

Data can be used to generate maps and tables at the state and county levels, such as this one, which presents state-level data on routine check-ups for women.

Spotlight: April is National Minority Health and Health Disparities Month

Compared to the US population as a whole, racial and ethnic minorities experience an increased burden of preventable illnesses and premature death as well as more limited access to care. Quick Health Data Online offers extensive data resources that can assist researchers and policy makers in identifying these health disparities.

The system contains data on topics such as:

• Demographics (education, population, poverty),
• Preventative health behaviors (screenings, lifestyle factors), and
• Health outcomes (disease incidence, reproductive health, mortality).

Data are provided by race/ethnicity to enable comparisons across sub-populations and across a wide range of issues such as: low birthweight births, heart disease mortality, and diabetes prevalence for women, by race and ethnicity.

Spotlight: March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Quick Health Data Online offers many different types of data that may be of interest in exploring colorectal cancer.
The site includes information on:

• Colorectal cancer screening,
• Colorectal cancer diagnoses, and
• Colorectal cancer-related deaths.

The system can generate maps and tables such as this one, which presents age-adjusted state-level colorectal cancer screening rates.