New York State County Health Assessment Indicators
The New York State County Health Assessment Indicator (CHAI) Reports consist of a series of tables presenting selected public health indicators by 14 health topic areas. Each topic contains an "About" section defining the listed indicators, describing the source of data and identifying a contact person. These public health indicators and presentation format were developed with input from state and local health department representatives.
Data resources used in compiling tables
- New York State birth, death, and fetal death files for mortality and natality rates.
- Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative Systems (SPARC) files, based on hospital discharges, for information on morbidity.
- Department of Health disease registries, including cancer, AIDS/HIV, communicable disease, and sexually transmitted disease.
- Program-based systems. (STD), Occupational Health
- The Expanded Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (Expanded BRFSS), based on a household telephone survey, for information on health behaviors.
- Other non-health department sources such as the US Census Bureau Small Area Data Set and the NYS Departments of Education, Labor, and Motor Vehicles.
Methodology
Most indicators are presented using the last three years of available data for the numerator, and the three-year average for the county and state rates. The mid-year population was used for the denominator in generating these rates. County rates were compared to New York State, New York State (excl. NYC) for "upstate" counties, or New York City for "city" counties/boroughs, and tested to see whether the two rates were "significantly" different at the 95% level.
County Ranking Group
A rank order of the counties based on county rates, from the best to the worst, was computed. The counties were then divided into four ranking groups (1 - most favorable, 4 - least favorable).
Healthy People 2010
The Healthy People 2010 Goal is also presented, if available.
Mortality and Hospitalization
Mortality and hospitalization-based indicators are presented as both crude and age-adjusted rates. The standard population used for adjustment was the 2000 United States population. Age-adjustment allows for the comparison of rates between counties because they are less influenced by differences in the county age distribution.
Expanded Risk Factor Surveillance System (Expanded BRFSS)
Behavior/Risk indicators were generated using the Expanded Risk Factor Surveillance System (Expanded BRFSS). The Expanded BRFSS augments the CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and is a random-digit-dialed telephone survey among adults 18 years of age and older representative of the non-institutionalized civilian population with landline telephones living in New York State. The goal of Expanded BRFSS is to collect county-specific data on preventive health practices, risk behaviors, injuries and preventable chronic and infectious diseases. Survey data collection occurred in 58 geographic areas of New York State, including each of the 57 counties outside of New York City and New York City (5 counties) as a single area. Expanded BRFSS indicators present the weighted percent and its 95% confidence interval.
Expanded BRFSS health indicators for New York State as a whole are based on the county level health indicators combined and weighted to represent the entire state. These results will vary from New York Sate data reported by CDC from the annual statewide BRFSS. The CDC statewide BRFSS estimates were calculated from an independent sample of adults in New York State.
Note!
Rates based on fewer than 20 events in the numerator will be highlighted (*) as unstable. The numerator and rates are suppressed if based on one or two events.
