Births to teens in Wisconsin: targeting high-risk populations.

BACKGROUND Adolescents giving birth represents an important public health issue with social, economic, and health-related consequences. OBJECTIVE Compare birth rates and trends in birth rates among adolescents age 15-19 years in Wisconsin and the United States by race/ethnicity. METHODS Teen birth rates from 1998-2002, and trends in birth rates from 1995-2002 for Wisconsin and the United States were compared by race/ethnicity using data from the Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RESULTS The general statewide birth rates and birth rates for Wisconsin white teens were lower than national rates, while birth rates for black, Hispanic, and American Indian teens were well above national rates from 1998-2002. Disparities between births to minority adolescents and white adolescents were higher in Wisconsin than in the United States. Although teen birth rates in general have declined nationally and in Wisconsin, rates among Hispanics in Wisconsin have increased during the 1995-2002 period. DISCUSSION Racial disparities in teen birth rates in Wisconsin far exceed national disparities. These disparities result from far-ranging, long-term social and environmental differences in underlying determinants of health that relate to ethnic and cultural beliefs, variation in access to health care that provides family planning and reproductive health services, decreased availability of school-based clinics, lack of role models, education, and variations in income and social status. Wisconsin should focus its teen pregnancy prevention activities on the groups at highest risk.