Small-area racial disparity in stroke mortality: an application of bayesian spatial hierarchical modeling.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In the United States, excess burden of stroke mortality has persisted among African Americans compared with whites despite declines in stroke mortality for both groups. New insights may be gleaned by examining local, small-area patterns in racial disparities in stroke.

Methods

The study population includes all non-Hispanic African Americans and non-Hispanic whites aged 35 to 64 in the southeastern United States during 1999 to 2002. We assessed county-level numbers of stroke deaths and population estimates in a Bayesian spatial hierarchical modeling framework allowing for inclusion of potential covariates (poverty and rurality), and generating county-specific model-based estimates of both absolute and relative racial disparity. The resulting estimates of race-speci

SUBMITTER: Tassone EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4030758 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature