Since You Asked! Episode 12: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Trends in Alaska

Ever wondered where all those numbers and statistics come from when it comes to substance abuse and mental health issues within Alaska? Librarian Julie Niederhauser interviews Ken Boegli, a research analyst of the Alaska Division of Behavioral Health, about substance abuse and mental health trends in Alaska. Learn where Alaska ranks compared to the rest of the United States when it comes down to the number of suicides or the abuse of marijuana within our state.

Listen to Podcast
[ 26 minutes ]
Recorded on April 4, 2014

Online access to statistics:

• Vital Statistics for Suicide Rates
• Alaska BRFSS (Ages 18+)
• Alaska YRBS (High School Students)
• SAMHSA's NSDUH (Ages 12+)

Health Insurance Data

Question: Where can I find data on the cost for private sector employees to purchase health/medical insurance in Alaska?

Answer: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services compiles data on private sector health insurance costs at the State level. You can access the data at Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Here, you can find total premium costs by state per private sector employee, the average employee contribution, and many other data elements. Try clicking "Summary Data Tables" in the left navigation bar under "Data and Statistics," then scroll to the bottom of the page and choose "State and Metro Area Tables." You can limit the tables you’d like to retrieve by year, table “series,” table “subseries,” and keywords. Choosing the subseries "Premiums/Contributions/Enrollments" will retrieve tables identifying premium costs.

Alaska Pipeline Oil Spill Data

Question: Where can I find oil spill data for Alaska online?

Answer: The best place online for this information is the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Spill Response at http://dec.alaska.gov/spar/index.htm. This agency is required by federal law to log spills and responses. The following are several links to their data:

1. Spills Database Online Query at http://dec.alaska.gov/Applications/SPAR/PublicMVC/PERP/SpillSearch.
Complete information back to 1995. Prior to that the data may be incomplete and/or inaccurate. Direct contact information for the agency is listed on the page in case you need older data. If you choose to search the database, the “Spill Specific Search” will allow you to limit by location, type of incident, type of substance and more. In addition, you can use two other buttons search by facility or affiliate (company) if you have the information.

2. Oil and Hazardous Substance Spill Data Summaries at http://dec.alaska.gov/spar/perp/data.htm.
These reports are general, but the larger reports will indicate major pipeline spills. You can then take that information and go back to the online database’s “Spill Specific Search” for details.
3. Response Updates back to FY04 (July 2003 – June 2004) http://dec.alaska.gov/spar/perp/response/sr_active.htm.
This is a browse portal without searching capabilities. You can find basic information on the active responses and read detailed situation reports.