Abstract

Hotspot Analysis of Chronic Disease Burden for Statewide Program Planning
Track: Health and Human Services
Authors: Katrina D'Amore, Erin Kulick

Objective: To identify areas of the state with the highest burden of chronic disease and low Massachusetts Department of Public Health Division of Prevention and Wellness (MDPH-DPAW) programmatic presence.
Methods: A Getis-Ord GI* analysis was performed using ArcMap 9.3.1 to determine statistically significant clusters of chronic disease which included a cumulative score of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke hospitalization rates. Current MDPH-DPAW funded programs were geocoded and mapped over hospitalization burden. Census demographic attributes were also joined at the town level. Statistical analyses were performed to explore characteristics of hotspots.
Results: Preliminary analysis revealed four significant hotspots of chronic disease hospitalizations. Hotspots were found to have higher median incomes and greater total population. There were no significant differences in number of programs. This approach may be used as a model for state health departments to incorporate spatial analyses into both statewide surveillance as well as strategic programmatic planning.