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. The population data for 2011-2021, along with rates affected by the population data, was updated on FLHealthCHARTS in November 2017. It is customary to periodically revise population estimates based on new information, such as a census or new mid-course census estimates for prior years. Revising these estimates ensures accurate accounting of the racial, ethnic, and gender distribution of the population. These changes affect the population data and rates calculated for your community.

Year - Time periods include single calendar years (ex. 2015) and three-year counts (ex. 2013-15).

County Quartiles - Quartiles in this report allow you to compare health data from one county to another in the state. Quartiles are calculated by ordering a rate from most favorable to least favorable by county and dividing the list into 4 groups. In this report, a low quartile number (1) always represents more favorable health situations while fours (4) represent less favorable situations. Blanks in this column indicate that not enough data was available to calcuate a quartile or that a quartile calculation was not appropriate (i.e. population counts).

Counts - Counts for indicators displaying a 3-year rate are the count of events over 3 years. Blank spaces in this column indicate that no count is available for the indicator. A count of less than 2 indicates, less than 2 events per year over a 3 year period. A count of less than 1 indicates an count of less than 1 event per year over a 3 year period. Hospitalization counts are supressed if there are between 1-4 cases.

Rates - Rates are frequently used when numbers are too small to use percent (per 100). For example, Florida's birth rate of 4.8 per 1000 females over age 35 would be the same as saying that 0.48% of females over age 35 had babies. Rates are typically expressed per 1000, per 10,000 or per 100,000, depending on how rare an event is. Rates based on fewer than 5 events over a 3 year period are marked as unstable (U). When the rates are based on only a few cases or deaths, it is almost impossible to distinguish random fluctuation from true changes in the underlying risk of disease or injury. 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.

U = Unstable rate (based on fewer than 5 events). When the rates are based on only a few cases or deaths, it is almost impossible to distinguish random fluctuation from true changes in the underlying risk of disease or injury. 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.

¹Total population minus the sum total of white and black populations results in the other nonwhite population count. TOTAL - (WHITE+BLACK) = OTHER NONWHITE.

²Modifiable behaviors leading to premature death are the major external (nongenetic) factors that contribute to death in the US, first identified as "Actual Causes of Death" by McGinnis and Foege in 1993. These three sets of behaviors each contribute to approximately half of the deaths annually in addition to their impact on morbidity, quality of life, and public health burden.

³Counties with greater than 10 HIV cases ages 13-19 do not have counts or rates available.

⁴Includes sexual battery, battery, homicide and kidnapping.

⁵Florida's high school graduation rate is the percentage of students who graduated within four years of their initial enrollment in ninth grade, not counting deceased students or students who transferred out to attend another public school outside the system, a private school, a home education program, or an adult education program. Incoming transfer students are included in the appropriate cohort (the group whose progress is tracked) based on their grade level and year of entry.

⁶Potentially avoidable hospitalizations are those for which good outpatient care can potentially prevent complications or more severe disease.

⁷ n/a - For school districts with no nurses a nurse-student ratio cannot be calculated.