![]() ![]() We evaluated the potential for bias by comparing estimates of 4 public health measures, calculated by using data from the City Health Dashboard (4) for 447 cities and their corresponding counties. As such, use of information from county-level data sources may skew data-driven efforts to allocate resources and target interventions (2,3). Counties are usually larger than their cities, are mostly administered by different governmental entities, and contain overlapping, but distinct, populations, with different sociodemographic composition, health behaviors, and health conditions (1). Yet, a county’s characteristics may differ substantially from a city within it. When local officials develop and evaluate city health policies, they often cannot access city-specific health data, and instead rely on county data. ![]() We found substantial and highly variable city–county differences within and across metrics, which suggests that use of county data to proxy city measures could hamper accurate allocation of public health resources and appreciation of the urgency of public health needs in specific locales. We compared 4 public health and sociodemographic measures in 447 US cities (percent of children living in poverty, percent of non-Hispanic Black population, age-adjusted cardiovascular disease mortality, life expectancy at birth) to the same measures calculated for counties that contain those cities. We evaluated whether using county-level data to characterize public health measures in cities biases the characterization of city populations. Public health officials concerned with cities should use city-level data whenever possible. Use of county data to proxy city measures could hamper municipal public health policymaking. What are the implications for public health practice? We found substantial and highly variable city–county differences within and across 4 public health metrics, suggesting use of county-level data may mischaracterize health metrics in cities. This lack causes reliance on county-level data, which may misrepresent city populations. Many local health departments develop city-level public health policies but lack city-level health data. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |