Table 1.
A list of variables used in the exploratory regression model.
| Measure | Description | Data Source | Years of Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| HEALTH OUTCOMES | |||
| Premature death | Years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 (age-adjusted) | National Center for Health Statistics—Mortality files | 2010–2012 |
| Poor or fair health | % of adults that report fair or poor health (age-adjusted) | Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System | 2006–2012 |
| Poor physical health days | Average # of reported physically unhealthy days per month | Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System | 2006–2012 |
| Poor mental health days | Average # of reported mentally unhealthy days per month | Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System | 2006–2012 |
| Low birthweight | % of births with low birth weight (<2500 g) | Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System | 2006–2012 |
| HEALTH FACTORS | |||
| HEALTH BEHAVIORS | |||
| Adult smoking | % of adults that reported currently smoking | Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System | 2006–2012 |
| Adult obesity | % of adults that report BMI ≥ 30 | CDC Diabetes Interactive Atlas | 2011 |
| Food environment index | Indicator of access to healthy foods—0 is worst, 10 is best | USDA Food Environment Atlas, Map the Meal Gap | 2012 |
| Physical inactivity | % of adults that report no leisure-time physical activity | CDC Diabetes Interactive Atlas | 2011 |
| Access to exercise opportunities | % of the population with access to places for physical activity | Business Analyst, Delorme map data, ESRI & US Census Tigerline Files | 2010 & 2013 |
| Access to recreational facilities | % of recreational facility access per 100,000 | USDA Food Environment Atlas, Map the Meal Gap | 2008 |
| Limited access to healthy foods | % of people with limited access to health foods | USDA Food Environment Atlas, Map the Meal Gap | 2008 |
| Fast food restaurants | % of restaurants that are fast food restaurants | USDA Food Environment Atlas, Map the Meal Gap | 2008 |
| Binge drinking | % of adults that report binge drinking | Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System | 2006–2012 |
| Alcohol-impaired driving deaths | % of driving deaths with alcohol involvement | Fatality Analysis Reporting System | 2009–2013 |
| Sexually transmitted infections | # of Chlamydia cases per 100,000 | National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention | 2012 |
| Teen birth rate | # of births per 1000 female population ages 15–19 | National Center for Health Statistics—Mortality files | 2006–2012 |
| CLINICAL CARE | |||
| Uninsured adults | % of adults ages 18–64 without insurance | Small Area Health Insurance Estimates | 2012 |
| Primary care provider rate | # of primary care physicians per 100,000 | Area Health Resource File/American Medical Association | 2012 |
| Mental health providers | Ratio of population to mental health providers | CMS, National Provider Identification File | 2014 |
| Preventable hospital stays | # of hospital stays for ambulatory-sensitive conditions per 1000 Medicare enrollees | Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care | 2012 |
| Diabetic screening | % of Diabetic Medicare enrollees receiving HbA1c test | Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care | 2012 |
| Mammography screening | % of female Medicare enrollees ages 67–69 having at least 1 mammogram in 2 years | Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care | 2012 |
| SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS | |||
| High school graduation | Calculated averaged freshman graduation rate | data.gov, supplemented w/National Center for Education Statistics | 2011–2012 |
| High school graduation | Graduation rate (Cohort or Averaged Freshman) | data.gov, supplemented w/National Center for Education Statistics | 2011–2013 |
| College degrees | % of adults ages 25–44 with some post-secondary education | American Community Survey | 2009–2013 |
| Unemployment | % of population age 16+ unemployed and looking for work | Bureau of Labor Statistics | 2013 |
| Children in poverty | % of children under age 18 living in poverty | Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates | 2013 |
| Income inequality | Gini coefficient of household income inequality | American Community Survey | 2009–2013 |
| Inadequate social support | % of adults that report not getting social/emotional support | Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System | 2006–2012 |
| Single-parent households | % of households that are single-parent households | American Community Survey | 2009–2014 |
| Violent crime rate | # of violent crimes per 100,000 | Uniform Crime Reporting—FBI | 2010–2012 |
| Homicide rate | # of homicides per 100,000 (age-adjusted) | Uniform Crime Reporting—FBI | 2000–2006 |
| Injury deaths | # of deaths due to injury per 100,000 | CDC WONDER mortality data | 2008–2012 |
| Age | Different Mother Age intervals | U.S Census Bureau | 2010 |
| Race | Different Racial/Ethnic groups | U.S Census Bureau | 2010 |
| PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT | |||
| Air pollution-particulate matter days | # of days that air quality was unhealthy due to fine particulate matter | CDC WONDER environmental data | 2011 |
| Air pollution-ozone days | # of days that air quality was unhealthy due to ozone | CDC WONDER environmental data | 2011 |
| Daily fine particulate matter | Average daily PM2.5 | CDC WONDER environmental data | 2011 |
| Drinking water safety | % of population in violations | Safe Drinking Water Information System | 2013–2014 |
| Severe housing problems | Calculated averaged freshman graduation rate | Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data | 2007–2011 |
| Driving alone to work | % of people who drive alone to work | American Community Survey | 2009–2013 |
| Long commute-driving alone | Among workers who commute in their car alone, the percentage that commute more than 30 min | American Community Survey | 2009–2013 |
Data Source: County Health National Data available at http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/