Preventive health services use, lifestyle health behavior risks, and self-reported health status of women in Ohio by ethnicity and completed education status.

This study assessed the health status and behavior of college-educated and non-college-educated African American women and European American women in Ohio. Analyses focused on health services utilization, health status, and life style/health behaviors from the 1998 Ohio Family Health Survey. College-educated African American women used more preventive health services and had better health status than non-college-educated African American women. Even so, college-educated African American women still had higher body mass index values, lower health status, and higher percent currently smoking than college-educated European American women. We conclude that college-educated African American women may face unique barriers to implementing all types of health-promoting behaviors available consequent to their higher education. Partnerships with respected community institutions, such as churches, may help these women develop good health practices in their entire community as well as in themselves.