Methodology

This section describes the criteria for status and policy indicator selection, data sources and limitations, grading and ranking, and modifications from the 2007 Report Card, along with information about the demographic data sources.

Status Indicator Methodology

Criteria for Indicator Selection

Health status indicators were selected based primarily on whether they had a significant impact on women’s quality of life, functioning, and well-being, and whether they affected a large number of women generally or a large number of women in a specific population and/or age group.  Additional criteria were whether the indicator could be affected through intervention, prevention or improvement; was potentially measurable; was commonly used or there existed consensus on use; or reflected an emerging important issue where the problem was increasing in prevalence, incidence, or severity. 

Data Sources and Limitations

The Report Card uses the best data available for each indicator and, wherever possible, data sets that are comparable for the states and the nation.  Thus, for certain indicators, while more recent data might be available for the nation, the Report Card uses older national data that is comparable with state-level data, as noted in the data source notes.  With few exceptions, the information presented in the Report Card is based upon data collected at the state level and reported by sex.  Exceptions include a few indicators based on data not reported by sex, but where general population data were viewed as a reliable reflection of women’s health status (such as the number of people living in medically underserved areas).  

Some national data on key measures of women’s health are included, even though no reliable state data are available for these state indicators (i.e., osteoporosis, unintended pregnancies, and violence against women), given their importance to women’s health.  When available, data are also presented by race, by ethnicity and by age, but these data are collected inconsistently by states and national surveys (see also the Demographic Data Sources section that follows for more on race and ethnicity data).  Although these data are generally from the same data source as the overall data, there may be differences in methodologies and data years, which are explained in the data source notes. Data collection for the status indicators ended in July 2010.