Last week I posted on 2 factor analyses of the health resources and services administration’s unmet need score map tool for zip codes in the Alleghenies and Pennsylvania as a whole. There were minimal differences between the regions on the two largest factors (health behaviors and mortality). For this post I am taking a look at the next 2 smaller factor differences between Pennsylvania and the Alleghenies.
Pennsylvania
The third factor for Pennsylvania had 4 variables leading heavily: Housing Stress, No Vehicle Access, Chlamydia, and Linguistic Isolation. In the graph above we see that these variables are positively associated with each other. This means that as one of these four variables increases, the other three are likely to increase. This factor accounted for 8.5% of the variance in the Pennsylvania zip codes.
The fourth strongest factor accounted for 6.3% of the variance. Only two variables loaded on this factor: low birth weight babies (positively) and the diptheria-tetanus-pertussis 3 (DPT3) dose vaccination rate (negatively). This means that as the rate of low birth weight babies increases, the DPT3 rate decreases. The table above shows the count of zip codes for different combinations of DPT3 and low birth weight rates.
Alleghenies
The graph above shows the 3rd and 4th factors and the variables for the Alleghenies. The 3rd factor accounted for 8.9% of the variance in the Allegheny zip codes. The poverty variables loaded positively and pap smear screening loaded negatively. This means that as poverty increases in an Allegheny zip code, the rate of pap smear screening is likely to decrease. One of the zip codes with the lowest pap smear rate is the 15901 zip code which is downtown Johnstown as can be seen in the graph below. The 15901 zip code also has the highest unmet need score in Pennsylvania (and thus in the Alleghenies as well). For some reason, there is a long line of pap smear zip code rates at 79. I left them in.
The fourth factor accounted for 6.1% of the variability in the Allegheny zip codes. The two variables that positively load on this factor are housing stress and no vehicle access. This means that as housing stress increases, no vehicle access increases. The graph below shows how one variable is likely to increase as another increase. Downtown Johnstown also has a high housing stress rate and a high no vehicle access rate. The 16802 zip code is the Penn State Main Campus.
There are similarities and differences in the other factor differences between Pennsylvania and the Alleghenies. Low pap smear screening, poverty and no vehicle access are part of the reasons why the 15901 zip cos has the highest UNS in Pennsylvania.
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