Preventative Health

Overall, Minnesota women exceeded the Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) targets for several preventative health targets. Healthy People 2030 (HP2030) provides new targets to strive for. Some metrics are below HP2030 targets, such as MN women ages 50-75 who have had a colonoscopy in the last 10 years, MN women ages 50-74 who have had a mammogram in the last 2 years, and MN women ages 21-65 who have had a pap test within the past 3 years. Other metrics are exceeded by MN women, like the percentage of women who have visited the dentist in the past year and the percentage of women who have had a routine checkup in the past year. Some metrics from HP2020 have been changed or added to the HP2030 targets. Please see the table below for details. Data for this section are from the 2018, 2022 and 2023 CDC BRFSS reports and the 2020 PRAMS report. Read more about the HP2030 objectives here.

Since our 2022 Report Card, MN women have fallen behind on previous metrics, while improving in other areas. Changes can possibly be attributed to barriers to receiving health care during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Had a pap test in the past 3 years (ages 21-65): Decreased from 82.8% to 77.2% from 2018-2020
  • Participated in any physical activity in the past month: Decreased from 78.1% to 76.1% from 2021-2023
  • Had visited the dentist in the past year: Decreased from 73.0% to 72.3% from 2020-2022
  • Had obesity pre-pregnancy: Increased from 24.1% to 25.6% from 2015-2020
  • Had a mammogram in the last 2 years (ages 50-74): Increased from 79.3% to 79.6% from 2020-2022
  • Had a routine checkup in the past year: Increased from 74.5% to 80.4% from 2021-2023

The health indicators featured in this section mirror CDC BRFSS indicators. Not all indicators are compared to the HP2030 targets because the HP2030 targets and BRFSS indicators do not always exactly match. 

Source: HP2030, BRFSS

HPV Vaccine Among MN Adolescents

Breast Cancer Screening

In 2022, white female Minnesotans had the highest cancer screening rate (73.8%), followed by screening for Black female Minnesotans (70.8%).