The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #36386

Richard J. Klein, MPH¹, Kathleen M. Turczyn, MPH², and John Aberle-Grasse, MPH². (1) Office of Analysis, Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC, 6525 Belcrest Rd., Room 764, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (2) Office of Analysis, Epidemiology, and Health Promotion, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC, 6525 Belcrest Road, Room 768, Hyattsville, MD 20782, 301-458-4538, rklein@cdc.gov

At the time of the release of Healthy People 2010, ten Leading Health Indicators (LHIs) were chosen to provide a snapshot of the health of the nation based on their ability to motivate action, the availability of state and national data to measure their progress, and their relevance as broad public health issues. Twenty-two of the 467 Healthy People 2010 objectives were selected to track the progress of the LHIs. Comparability between state and national data is not an issue for 11 of these measures, for which state data can be obtained from the national source. For one measure, state data do not exist. For the remaining 10 measures, data can be obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The features of the BRFSS and the national data sources, the comparability of the questions used, and the comparability of the data obtained are examined. Question wording is comparable for four of the 10 measures (cigarette smoking, binge drinking, influenza shot, and pneumococcal shot), and data are generally comparable for four of the 10 measures (cigarette smoking, influenza shot, health care coverage, and specific source of care). Age groups are different for four of the measures (condom use at last intercourse, children exposed to second-hand smoke, health care coverage, and specific source of care). Comparability of the surveys is summarized for each of the 10 LHI measures for which BRFSS state data can be obtained.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the ten Healthy People 2010 Leading Health Indicators (LHIs)
• Describe the features of the BRFSS and the national data sources used to track the measures for the LHIs
• List the measures for which state and national data for LHI measures are comparable
• List the measures for which state and national data for LHI measures are not comparable, and describe the reasons why they are not comparable

Keywords: Health Objectives, Statistics

Related Web page: wonder.cdc.gov/data2010

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.