The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #60076

Ami M. Shah, MPH¹, Cynthia L. Williams, MS², and Steven Whitman, PhD¹. (1) Sinai Health System, Sinai Urban Health Institute, California at 15th Street, K439, Chicago, IL 60608, 773-257-6569, shaam@sinai.org, (2) Sinai Health System, Sinai Community Institute, 2653 W. Ogden, Chicago, IL 60608

Though prevalence rates for various health conditions and behavioral risk factors are determined for the US and some states, their magnitude and social context are not well defined. The lack of comprehensive data at the local level hinders effective health interventions, community planning, and appropriate resource allocation. To capture such information and portray the health profile of small geographic areas or groups of people, we conducted face-to-face interviews in 1700 randomly selected households from six racially/ethnically diverse Chicago community areas. Because Chicago is one of the most segregated cities in the U.S., we are able to consider these small geographic areas according to the predominant racial and ethnic group represented.

Data from the survey reveal that racial/ethnic health disparities exist to a far greater extent for these community areas than for Chicago and the U.S. for several indicators. For instance, 30% of people from a predominantly Black community report fair or poor health compared to 18% of Black people nationally. These data suggest that national data may underestimate prevalence rates and disguise individual risk factors and social determinants of minority health for some communities in the U.S. Findings also show that some disparities exist within racial and ethnics groups.

Our presentation will describe the relevance of local level data and small area analysis compared to national estimates for several leading health indicators. Finally, we will describe how local level information empowers communities to identify health priorities, target and tailor interventions in efforts to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities.

Learning Objectives:

Learning Objectives:
• Evaluate the need for health information at the local level compared to state and national data; and
• Describe how information at the local level can empower communities to target and tailor interventions to address the health needs of specific groups.

Keywords: Community Health,

Related Web page: www.sinai.org/urban/originalresearch/rwj/index.asp

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.