PolicyLink and PERE
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An Equity Profile of Orange County
81.8
79.0
80.0
80.8
82.3
84.3
All Black Native
American
White Latino Asian or
Pacific
Islander
Racial disparities in health outcomes
One dimension of readiness includes how
long we expect people to live once they are
born, (i.e. life expectancy at birth). Life
expectancy can reflect a wide variety of
factors in a person's environment including
access to health care, exposure to pollution,
inadequate food environments, and
social/financial security.
African Americans and Native Americans have
the lowest life expectancy at birth, with the
average Black resident living nearly three
years less than the county average. For
context, though three years may seem short
on paper, this length of time is the equivalent
to the years that could be gained by
eliminating certain prevalent and devastating
diseases. For example the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention estimates that
removing all cancer deaths across the nation
would increase average lifespan by 3.2 years.
1
Black and Native American populations have lower life expectancies
Readiness
58. Life Expectancy at Birth, Orange County, 2015
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Note: Data represent a 2011 through 2015 average.
1
Arias, Elizabeth, Melonie Heron, and Betzaida Tejada-Vera. 2013. United
States Life Tables Eliminating Certain Causes of Death, 1999–2001. 9.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
