Weighting of Measures
Three criteria were considered when assigning weights to measures.
-
What effect does a measure have on overall health?
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Is the effect measured solely by this measure or is it included in other measures?
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How reliable is the data supporting a measure?
The final weights, presented in the table below, are based on input from experts in 1990 and 1991, and the Scientific Advisory Committee and its continuing methodological review. The weights of the measures total 100 percent. Determinants account for 75 percent of the overall ranking and outcomes account for 25 percent, a shift from the 50/50 balance in the original 1990 index. This reflects the importance and growing availability of determinant data. The column labeled “% of Total” indicates the weight of each measure in determining the overall ranking. For example, prevalence of smoking is 7.5 percent of the America’s Health Rankings®. The column labeled “Effect on Score” presents how each measure positively or negatively relates to the overall ranking. For example, a high prevalence of smoking has a negative effect on score and will lower the ranking of a state. An increase in the percent of high school graduates has a positive effect on score and will increase the overall ranking of a state.
Weight of Individual Measures
|
NAME OF MEASURE
|
% OF TOTAL
|
EFFECT ON SCORE
|
|
DETERMINANTS |
|
|
|
BEHAVIORS |
|
|
|
|
Smoking |
7.5
|
Negative
|
|
|
Binge Drinking |
5.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
Obesity |
7.5
|
Negative
|
|
|
High School Graduation |
5.0
|
Positive
|
|
COMMUNITY & ENVIRONMENT |
|
|
|
|
Violent Crime |
5.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
Occupational Fatalities |
2.5
|
Negative
|
|
|
Infectious Disease |
5.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
Children in Poverty |
5.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
Air Pollution |
5.0
|
Negative
|
|
PUBLIC & HEALTH POLICIES |
|
|
|
|
Lack of Health Insurance |
5.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
Public Health Funding |
2.5
|
Positive
|
|
|
Immunization Coverage |
5.0
|
Positive
|
|
CLINICAL CARE |
|
|
|
|
Early Prenatal Care |
5.0
|
Positive
|
|
|
Primary Care Physicians |
5.0
|
Positive
|
|
|
Preventable Hospitalizations |
5.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OUTCOMES |
|
|
|
|
Diabetes |
2.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
Poor Mental Health Days |
2.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
Poor Physicial Health Days |
2.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
Geograpic Disparity |
5.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
Infant Mortality |
5.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
Cardiovascular Deaths |
2.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
Cancer Deaths |
2.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
Premature Death |
5.0
|
Negative
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OVERALL HEALTH RANKINGS |
100.0
|
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|