Methodology
Identification of racial disparities in breast cancer mortality: does scale matter?
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* Corresponding author: Nancy Tian jt1277@txstate.edu
1 Texas Center for Geographic Information Science, Department of Geography, Texas State University-San Marcos, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, Texas, 78666 USA
2 BioMedware Inc., 3526 W Liberty, Suite 100, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48103 USA
3 Texas Center for Geographic Information Science, Department of Geography, Texas State University-San Marcos: 601 University Drive, San Marcos, Texas, 78666 USA
4 School of Resource and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079 China
5 Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas at Brownsville, 80 Fort Brown - MO1.114, Brownsville, Texas, 78520 USA
International Journal of Health Geographics 2010, 9:35 doi:10.1186/1476-072X-9-35
Published: 5 July 2010Abstract
Background
This paper investigates the impact of geographic scale (census tract, zip code, and county) on the detection of disparities in breast cancer mortality among three ethnic groups in Texas (period 1995-2005). Racial disparities were quantified using both relative (RR) and absolute (RD) statistics that account for the population size and correct for unreliable rates typically observed for minority groups and smaller geographic units. Results were then correlated with socio-economic status measured by the percentage of habitants living below the poverty level.
Results
African-American and Hispanic women generally experience higher mortality than White non-Hispanics, and these differences are especially significant in the southeast metropolitan areas and southwest border of Texas. The proportion and location of significant racial disparities however changed depending on the type of statistic (RR versus RD) and the geographic level. The largest proportion of significant results was observed for the RD statistic and census tract data. Geographic regions with significant racial disparities for African-Americans and Hispanics frequently had a poverty rate above 10.00%.
Conclusions
This study investigates both relative and absolute racial disparities in breast cancer mortality between White non-Hispanic and African-American/Hispanic women at the census tract, zip code and county levels. Analysis at the census tract level generally led to a larger proportion of geographical units experiencing significantly higher mortality rates for minority groups, although results varied depending on the use of the relative versus absolute statistics. Additional research is needed before general conclusions can be formulated regarding the choice of optimal geographic regions for the detection of racial disparities.