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on the prevalence of health behaviors and common chronic diseaseswas derived from the
Behavioral RiskFactor SurveillanceSystem (BRFSS), a survey conducted inArizona and across
theUnitedStates that provides population-level estimates of important health indictors. Counts
of hospital emergency room and inpatient healthcare utilizationwere drawn from theArizona
Department ofHealthServices? (ADHS)Hospital DischargeData (HDD). Finally,morality rates
were calculated usingdata from theADHSOffice ofVital Records death database.
Each section of this report includes a thorough introduction of the topic beingdiscussed,
complete descriptions of the data and analyticmethods used, descriptions of the demographic
characteristics of those included in each study (excluding the population projections section),
analysis of the results, and a brief discussion of the results. The separate sectionswere designed
so users could interpret each section independentlywithout needing to reference other sections. It
is our hope to benefit the health of all Arizonans through providing information to assist the
coordinated planningof programs and interventions designed to effectively address the realities
of our agingpopulation.
