Health and Education

 

Health and education remain areas of primary concern for West Virginians.  Many women in this state do not have health insurance and tend to live in areas with limited access to health clinics. This is especially true for people in rural areas such as the Southern and Central Regions.  In particular, diabetes is a serious disease for many WV women and the mortality rate from this disease is 29.1 per 100,000 compared to 19.8 in the country. 

Poverty and low economic security are also related to the level of education among people in this state. Data show that education has a positive effect on employment and income. Women with less then a high school diploma are more than twice as likely as those with a high school diploma to live in poverty. West Virginia has the lowest proportion of women who have completed at least a bachelor’s degree nationwide, although this percent increased between 1990 and 2010.