Data Note(s)

• Population - Rates are calculated using July 1 population estimates from the Florida Legislature, Office of Economic and Demographic Research which have been allocated by race based on information from the US Bureau of the Census.

• Counts - Counts for indicators displaying a 3-year rate are an average count of events over 3 years, NOT a sum. Blank spaces in this column indicate that no count is available for the indicator. A count of less than 2 indicates an average of less than 2 events per year over a 3 year period. Hospitalization counts are suppressed if there are between 1-4 cases. Cancer incidence counts are suppressed if there are less than 10 cases.

• Rates - Rates based on fewer than 5 events over a 3 year period are considered to be unstable because it is almost impossible to distinguish random fluctuation from true changes Therefore comparisons over time or between communities that are based on unstable rates can lead to erroneous conclusions about differences in risk which may or may not be valid. All age-adjusted rates utilize the Year 2000 Standard Population Proportion.

• Blanks indicate that data is not available for the specified time period.

• Potentially avoidable hospitalizations are those for which good outpatient care can potentially prevent complications or more severe disease.

• Green, yellow, orange and red county quartiles represent the most to the least favorable situation (1st to 4th quartile). Light to dark blue county quartiles represent density from lowest to highest (1st to 4th).