5 Health Facts To Know About Our Neighborhood

Residents in our area are relatively healthy when it comes to a 2015 analysis of New Yorkers by neighborhood — but there is major room for improvement.

Department of Health data released last year found that we are doing pretty well on a variety of fronts —  such as infant mortality, HIV infection, and diabetes rates — but that large numbers of us are uninsured and go without needed medical care.

The report examines Community District 14, which covers greater Flatbush/Midwood, including Ditmas Park, Beverly Square East and West, Caton Park, Kenmore Terrace, and slivers of Kensington and East Flatbush. (Check out this map to see if you live in District 14.)

Since knowledge is power, we’ve decided to highlight five public health issues in our neighborhood that could always benefit from a little more awareness and public funding.

First, some background on the neighborhood:

• The district area has a population of 165,840.
• We are 37 percent white, 36 percent black, 16 percent Hispanic, and 10 percent Asian.
• Almost half of us, forty-five percent, are foreign born, and over a quarter have limited English proficiency.
• One in five of us lives below the federal poverty line.

Here are five health facts to know about the neighborhood:

1. Our infant mortality rate is four times the rate on the Upper East Side.

Our infant mortality rate (4 per every 1,000 live births) is similar to the citywide rate (4.7 per every 1,000 live births), but still four times the rate on the Upper East Side.

2. Flatbush/Midwood kids suffer way more from asthma than kids in Borough Park.

The rate of asthma hospitalizations among children ages 5 to 14 in Flatbush/Midwood (19 per 1,000 children) is significantly lower than the Brooklyn (32 p/1,000) and citywide (36 p/1,000) rates. Neighboring Borough Park performs far better with an asthma hospitalization rate of only 6 per every 1,000 children.

3. Not as many teen girls in our area are getting HPV vaccines.

Compared with girls aged 13 to 17 citywide (43 percent), girls from Flatbush/Midwood (31 percent) are less likely to receive the full human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series. The percentages of adults in our area who get tested for HIV and who receive flu vaccinations are similar to those of adults citywide.

4. Flatbush/Midwood residents are relatively uninsured.

In Flatbush/Midwood, almost one in four adults had no health insurance in 2015, and one in seven went without needed medical care. We compare poorly to Brooklyn and New York City overall in both areas.

5. Heart disease and cancer are the neighborhood’s top killers.

The top causes of death for residents of Flatbush and Midwood, as for most New Yorkers, are heart disease and cancer. Almost 1,700 of us died of heart disease last year, and 1,100 died of cancer. Cause of death #3? The flu!

Our death rates due to diabetes, stroke, lower respiratory diseases, accidents and hypertension are lower than the citywide rates.

Next week we will take a similar look at Community District 12, which includes Ocean Parkway and Kensington.

Want more information? The Department of Health has a great Environment & Health Data Portal, where you can look at trends across the city.