Compared to Distribution

an indicator guage with the arrow in the green the value is in the best half of communities.

an indicator guage with the arrow in the yellow the value is in the 2nd worst quarter of communities.

an indicator guage with the arrow in the red the value is in the worst quarter of communities.

Compared to Target

green circle with white tick inside it meets target; red circle with white cross inside it does not meet target.

Compared to a Single Value

green diamond with downward arrow inside it lower than the comparison value; red diamond with downward arrow inside it higher than the comparison value; blue diamond with downward arrow inside it not statistically different from comparison value.

Trend

green square outline with upward trending arrow inside it green square outline with downward trending arrow inside it non-significant change over time; green square with upward trending arrow inside it green square with downward trending arrow inside it significant change over time; blue square with equals sign no change over time.

Compared to Prior Value

green triangle with upward trending arrow inside it higher than the previous measurement period; green triangle with downward trending arrow inside it lower than the previous measurement period; blue equals sign no statistically different change from previous measurement period.

green chart bars Significantly better than the overall value

red chart bars Significantly worse than the overall value

light blue chart bars No significant difference with the overall value

gray chart bars No data on significance available

Age-Adjusted ER Rate due to Alcohol/Substance Abuse

County: Wicomico, MD

Measurement Period: 2017

Filter: none (all Counties)

This indicator shows the average annual age-adjusted emergency room visit rate due to alcohol/substance abuse per 100,000 population.

Why is this important?

Substance abuse is a major public health issue that has a strong impact on individuals, families, and communities. The use of illicit drugs, abuse of alcohol, and addiction to pharmaceuticals is linked to serious health conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and liver diseases, exacting over $600 billion annually in costs related to lost work productivity, healthcare, and crime. Substance abuse also contributes to a wide range of social, physical, mental, and public health problems such as teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDs, STIs, domestic violence, child abuse, motor vehicle crashes, crime, homicide, and suicide. Because of these far-reaching consequences of substance abuse, treatment programs have been developed to counter addiction. In particular, a combination of behavioral therapy and treatment medications tailored to an individual's particular abusive pattern and other mental, emotional, or medical issues is suggested to help overcome addiction.

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