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METHODS: Community Health Analysis Areas (CHAAs) were created from US 2000 Census Block Groups and these CHAAs are homogenous geographic regions of the state and provide a detailed picture of the community and can be utilized to monitor trends over time. Since CHAAs are built from Census Block Groups all data available at the Block Group level can be aggregated to the CHAA level. In addition any street address or zip code level data can be added to the CHAA layers through a process of geocoding then spatial joining. Geocoding was implemented for all datasets containing address information. The addresses of the residences of each year’s data were geocoded using the Centrus Desktop geocoding software.
RESULTS: Each CHAA was ranked on all of the 21 indicators and a factor analytic procedure using varimax (orthogonal) rotation was conducted to assess any underlying constructs. An average rank that measured the overall risk score based on 21 indicators was estimated. The CHAAs were divided into quartiles from low to high risk based on the overall risk score and higher scores indicated higher risk and vice-versa. The overall risk profile was distributed normally (Mdn = 62.96; M = 62.97; SD = 13.79) with a minimum rank score of 29.76 and a maximum of 94.57. Further, Shapiro-Wilks test indicated that the distribution of the overall risk score was normal (W = 0.99; p = 0.57).
CONCLUSIONS: It proposes a methodology in selecting priorities that ranks a state, a census block group, or a community (typically a geographic unit) on identified risk and/or capacity indicators by estimating the average rank. The average ranks are typically grouped into quartiles and/or quintiles, which can then be displayed as a statistical map (GIS map) to describe geographical variations and discusses the importance of how evaluators can play an important role conceptualizing the needs assessment process.