Public Health
Estimating the prevalence of a health condition in a concentrated geographic area can effectively provide accurate and specific data below the county level that is otherwise unavailable for policymakers, according to a study in Health Services Research.
For example, researchers found that creating prevalence estimates of asthma symptoms for legislative districts in California resulted in reference tools for local elected officials to use in determining their constituencies' needs and drafting legislation.
The authors conclude that prevalence estimates in concentrated areas can fill a demand in California and nationwide for local-level health data on various health conditions (Mendez-Luck et al., Health Services Research, December 2007).