title: Geographic issues in the analysis of a county-wide survey.
abstract: Surveys are used by county public health departments to obtain data for purposes such as risk factor inventories and program planning. Geographic data are often collected from respondents in order to make sub-county estimates and to ensure that the sample is representative of the population. This article addresses geographic issues that arise in analyzing such surveys including: (1) the assignment of respondents to geographic units, (2) the number of respondents necessary per unit, (3) geographically appropriate questions, and (4) geographic definitions. Data from a county-wide survey that highlight these issues are presented and suggestions for improvements are made.
authors: Center for Family and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, USA.
authors: K E
authors: KE
authors: Ragland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012040:Regional Health Planning / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012107:Research Design; D013223:Statistics as Topic