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Running Heading: Death Rates in 15 thru 24 year olds

Death Rates of 15 thru 24 year olds in the United States

Exercise #2 Problem Definition Paper: Secondary Data Tables

Lenice Richardson

SOWK 300- 02

Tuskegee University

Ms. McArthur
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Abstract

Life is too short for someone life to be cut short. We as a people need to value life and instill

these values in others around us. In the United States the death rates have gone up and down

throughout the years. In past years the death rates of Americans have been high and lower in

different period of history. This paper will focus on how deaths of 15-24 year olds have died and

the major causes of the deaths in recent years.

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1. Problem Identification.
Everyday a number of people are dying for several of reasons. The major reasons

for people 15-24 are dying are because of accidents, assault (homicides), and suicides.

These death reasons are not the kind of things that should be killing these people who

have much life to live. The African American death rates in 1990-2006 for 15 – 24 year

olds are higher than Caucasian, Asian or Pacific Islanders.

My question is what are the reasons for assaults and suicide for deaths among 15-

24 year olds? What give another person the right to take another person’s life? These

death rates are not just happening in one place but rather all over the United States. The

data collected show how African American death rates are high and are still higher than

other races.

2. Problem Description.
Dealing with death period is hard for the people who are left to deal and cope with

the aftermath. From the data I collected the problem is that African Americans age 15-24

are dying from accidents, homicides and suicides. Aside from what is killing this age

group it is all over this country. In 2006, California, Florida, Illinois, New York,

Pennsylvania, and Texas had the highest number of deaths. The problem is that most of

these people in this age group are dying of assaults, suicides and accidents compared to

other causes. These types of death should never happen to anyone but they do happen. I

feel this is important because the people in this age group are the next people in the

country that will be responsible for themselves and others; these are the future doctors,

lawyers, police officers, teachers, etc.

To prevent the death rate from going up and getting worse I suggest that families

spend more time doing constructive things together. For example, family nights
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consisting of games and dinner and healthy conversation with more extended family,

dinner at the table every night, and family outings. Another suggestion is for 15 -24 year

olds to not bear no more than they can handle, to only pursue their own dreams and only

make you happy. For the people who are not of the norm seek friendships that will turn

into people you love and that will encourage and support you.

3. Findings.
Here is where I will be using data tables to give quantitative data to help draw a better

picture of my topic. The data tables show specific rates, years, and race of how this

problem breaks down into different categories. The tables are provided in the appendix of

this paper.

a. Magnitude:
This problem is large and can get larger if something is not done about it.

The data table shows that this is affecting 34,887 15- 14 year olds in 2006. 16,229

of the people died from accidents. 5,717 died from assaults (homicides). 4,189

died from suicides. 171 thousand black males and 51 thousand black females died

in 2006.

b. Scope:
In 2006, 2,426,000 people died in the United States. This gives the U.S.

8.1 death rate for 2006. As one can see 2.4 million people have died in one year.

It breaks down to the most populated states that have the most deaths. California

had 237,000 deaths in 2006 and a 6.5 death rate. Texas had 157,000 deaths and a

6.7 death rate. New York had 149,000 deaths and a 7.7 death rate. The numbers

look about the same for Pennsylvania, Florida, and Illinois.

c. Changes:
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The death rates per 100,000 populations have decreased over time. From

1990 to 2006 the death rate went from 252,000 to 171,000, respectively. This

problem has decreased but has also increased from 2004 to 2006. The number of

deaths in the United States has been like a yo-yo in the past years. It increased

from 1995 to 2005 from 2,403,000 to 2,448,000, respectively.

d. Disparities:
There are differences in race but none so dramatic that would make a

difference in the race of the individuals who are dying. There is a difference in the

age but this paper was focused on 15-24 year olds. Other age groups have

different causes of death. In one of the data tables you can see that there are more

males that have died than females. In 2006, 119,000 males died compared to the

43,000 females who died.

4. Data Tables.
The data tables that were used I obtained from United States Census Bureau.
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References

Table 107. Death Rates by Age, Sex, and Race: 1950 to 2006. (2008). U.S. National Center for
Health Statistics, Health, United States, 2008.

Table 110. Deaths and Death Rates by State and Island Areas: 1990 to 2007. (n.d.). U.S.

National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports (NVSR), Deaths:

Final Data for 2006, Vol. 57, No. 14, April 17, 2009; Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2007,
Vol. 58, No. 1, A

Table 117. Deaths and Death Rates by Leading Causes of Death and Age: 2006. (n.d.). U.S.

National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports (NVSR) Deaths:
Final Data for 2006, Vol. 57, No. 14, April 24, 2009.
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Appendix
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