December 1 , 2006
National Coalition Institute's Research into Action

Community-Level Data Helps Identify Most At-Risk Populations

Local-level data is essential in identifying communities most at risk, yet this data is often incorrect or unavailable. According to a 2006 study published by the American Journal of Public Health, local-level data can reveal important information that is often not uncovered by existing city-and/or regional-level data.

Data on public health issues traditionally provides little or no local information on the determinants of morbidity and death rates. Recently, emphasis on local-level data is becoming more prevalent in the health, as well as the research community. This data is especially relevant in urban communities, where smaller areas are becoming more diverse and health disparities between racial/ethnic populations are prominent.

The researchers in this study conducted surveys in six communities in the city of Chicago. These communities were very diverse racially, geographically and in terms of income. The researchers analyzed 13 measures on health conditions, such as high blood pressure, arthritis or diabetes; health behaviors, such as physical activity and smoking; and health care access. The study showed significant disparities among the six community areas and Chicago as a whole. For example, prevalence rates of high blood pressure were statistically different in five of the six study areas from the overall rate in Chicago.

The study showed statistically significant "variations in the health measures assessed between the community areas themselves and between the community areas and Chicago as a whole." These results indicate that there are strong limitations with using national and/or state data on a community level. National data does not reflect local conditions that coalitions need to know in order to take action.

Accurately telling your local "story" through data can have a huge impact on your coalition. For instance, in Harlem local data was gathered on smoking prevalence rates. The rate in Harlem was significantly different from the rate in New York State (42 percent vs. 25 percent).

This data is valuable in implementing local level policies and interventions they would address smoking prevalence rates. Researchers noted, "… our findings can inform policymakers, community leaders, and researchers in their efforts to advocate for equitable distribution of resources…"

Source: Ami M. Shah, MPH, Steven Whitman, PhD, and Abigail Silva, MPH. “Variations in the Health Conditions of 6 Chicago Community Areas: A Case for Local Data” (August 2006). American Journal of Public Health, Vol 96, No.8.

What Coalitions Can Do www.coalitioninstitute.org
Develop a local evaluation plan. Your coalition should begin planing for evaluation in your earliest stages. This will help your coalition prepare for local data collection and utilization. See CADCA’s Evaluation Primer for detailed information on local evaluation plans.
*If you are a Drug-Free Communities grantee you should already have a plan in place.
Obtain local data. Taking information from national data sources and localizing it is not enough! Local data shows your coalition which areas and populations are at greatest risk and where your coalitions work would be most valuable. Local data (qualitative and quantitative) can be obtained from a number of places including school surveys, interviews, local universities, local police departments, area hospitals, local health departments, even the local morgue.
Update local data regularly. By updating local data on a regular basis your coalition can be aware of important community change. Coalitions are in place to help communities and therefore need to be able to adjust as their community’s needs change. Coalition programs and policies can effectively be modified to accommodate local change when local data is collected analyzed on a frequent basis.
Work with other local coalitions and organizations. Through these partnerships local data can be shared and obtained from community members more readily. Other coalitions may have more access to certain populations within your community. They can provide you with valuable information/data about your community members that you may have other wise not been able to gather.
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Research into Action may be copied without permission. Please cite CADCA's National Coalition Institute as the source.
CADCA's National Coalition Institute is federally-funded through a grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy that is administered by SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. The Institute's mission is to increase the effectiveness of community anti-drug coalitions throughout the nation.