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FHOP Express October 2005

Product Releases & Updates
Boundary Files The 2000 California County boundary files have been uploaded to the website. They can be found in the California County MCAH Data in your county's new data page. These new files are to be used with the mapping component of FHOP's EpiBC Software. Not only do these new files contain the most recent population data, but any changes to zipcode and census tract boundaries of the jurisdiction are included as well.

County Spreadsheets New and improved indicator data is now available on the FHOP website! Excel spreadsheets are available for each county and contain data through 2003 for the county and the state. The format is new and combines data tables with charts and graphs that display comparative data (county to state and HP2010 Objectives) with confidence intervals over multiple years. In addition, these spreadsheets perform trend tests to allow county staff to easily determine whether an apparent trend for an indicator is indeed significant, and whether this differs significantly from any trends for that indicator occurring at the state level. These spreadsheets are grouped according to the raw data set in which they were derived- Death and Fetal Death Master File and Birth Master Files. Spreadsheets containing information on hospital discharge indicators in this same format will be posted to the FHOP website shortly.

Useful County Data Resources
The California Center for Public Health Advocacy has an updated report on the childhood overweight rates, by California Assembly Districts. The 2005 report compares changes in percentage from the 2001 report. “Across California, the percentage of children in grades 5, 7, and 9 who were overweight increased 6% over three years, to 28.1 per 100 children in 2004 from 26.5 per 100 children in 2001. The increase occurred among both boys and girls and among children of all racial/ethnic backgrounds. Increases occurred in nearly every Assembly district.”

In addition, the CaliforniaCenter for Public Health Advocacy has released a 2004 Diabetes Report Policy Brief, displaying diabetes-related deaths by California’s legislative districts. The brief includes background information on diabetes, information on the study that the center conducted, and key findings indicating diabetes-related deaths are increasing and districts with higher diabetes-related deaths tend to have a higher prevalence of overweight and unfit children.

Trainings
Trend Analysis is now open for registration!!! The training will be held in San Francisco on Wednesday, November 16, 2005. This is a one-day workshop designed for staff with training and experience in epidemiology, statistics or data analysis. Monitoring health outcomes over time is an essential part of evaluating program impact. "Eyeballing" graphs to see if indicator values appear to be increasing or decreasing without evaluating statistical significance may result in making incorrect conclusions. Thus, it is important to learn the proper analysis to assess trends and draw conclusions. The definition, concepts and statistical methods for determining the slope, intercept, spline, and their significance will be discussed. The new FHOP web based MCAH indicator databooks and trend graphs will also be reviewed at this training, and FHOP staff will guide you through the templates for your county. Please visit FHOP for registration and training information.

Logic Model -- Injury Conference: FHOP staff will be conducting a workshop “Using a Logic Model for Program Planning and Evaluation” on Wednesday morning, October 5, 2005 as part of the 19th Annual California Conference on Childhood Injury Control. The conference, October 2nd through the 5th in San Diego, is sponsored by the California Department of Health Services’ Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Branch in conjunction with the Center for Injury Prevention Policy and Practice at the San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health. The focus of the conference is on improving the professional skills of participants and building the capacity of injury prevention programs. The FHOP workshop will introduce a logic model and aims to develop skill in using a logic model framework to effectively plan and evaluate prevention and intervention programs to achieve demonstrated outcomes. This session will include presentation of a logic model, review useful applications, present step-by-step motor vehicle occupant safety examples, and provide participants with an opportunity to practice using the logic model framework.

Spotlight
Currently, with more to come in the future, you will find a host of data resources, including the County Spreadsheets, your county's map boundary files, injury hotspot data, and hospitalization data. As more county specific data becomes available, it will be posted to these pages.