Substance Use in Minnesota : Toolbox

Toolbox

How to Use This Site:

Data by Topic allows users to run a customized search. After choosing a topic, you may refine your search by selecting one or more counties or regions. After selecting location(s), you can further refine your search using the tool bar at the top. Depending on the topic, you may choose one or more years and choose demographic options (grade, gender, age, race/ethnicity). You also have the option of displaying the data by either Number or Percent (or Rate).

To get started, simply click on one of the three topics: alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs, or click on the Data by Topic tab in the upper right corner.

When data are displayed by percent, the denominator used is dependent on the demographic chosen. If for a chosen indicator, the value displayed for 6th grade males is 5%, that represents 5% of all 6th grade males for the given location and year. It does not represent 5% of all students for the given location and year. For example, if the indicator is Youth Alcohol Use, then 5% of all 6th grade males who answered that particular Minnesota Student Survey question (for that location and year) reported that they had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days.

Use Data by Topic to access maps, charts and trends!

Once you’ve chosen a topic, use the upper left corner of the toolbar to display the data by Map, Bar or Trend:

Map will provide a color-coded map of Minnesota counties, sorted by quintile for the chosen indicator. Twenty percent (one-fifth) of counties will be colored dark orange—these counties have the highest reported consumption or consequence rates for the chosen indicator. The darker teal counties have the lowest rates.
Bar will display data for the chosen indicator as a bar graph, as compared to the state average. The Minnesota state average serves as the axis. Counties with higher rates will show a bar to the right; counties with lower rates will show a bar to the left. If you customize your search to look at data for 12th grade males, for example, the axis will adjust to reflect the state average for 12th grade males only.
Trend will display data as a line graph, over the chosen time period. Users may select up to 7 counties or 7 regions to display on one trend graph.

Data by Location allows users to view multiple indicators (or topics) for one specific county or region. Once you choose a location, you will be presented with population statistics from the U.S. Census. Use the tool bar at the top of the page to select one or more topics. Once you choose a topic, Alcohol Consequences for example, you will be presented with all indicators related to that topic. To avoid having to scroll through all indicators, use the Data by Topic feature to search for a specific indicator.

To get started, click on County, Region, or State, or use the Data by Location tab in the upper right corner. When your cursor hovers over a county on the county map, the name of that County will appear. The region map is divided by the seven Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Prevention Regions. By clicking on State, you will automatically be transferred to Minnesota’s population statistics.

Data Sources: A link to the respective data source will appear below each table unless you use the tool bar to “hide” this information. A fuller description of the data source can be found by scrolling down to the bottom of the page. Detailed data source descriptions are also available in the Toolbox.

Population Statistics: To find statistics on population size by race and by age, population density, household income and individuals living below the poverty line, use the Data by Location feature. Once you choose a location, population statistics from the 2000 U.S. Census will automatically be presented. Scroll down the page for a link to 2001 through 2006 population estimates.

Tools: By clicking on the Tool tab, you can choose Community Resources, Reading Room, Toolbox.

Lists of Community Resources are provided at the state-, region-, and county-level. You may scroll down, or click on a region link at the top of the page to jump to the resources for that region. Under each region, counties are listed alphabetically.
The Reading Room is arranged by topic, location, and demographic. Use the tabs at the top to jump directly to a specific section. Some suggested sites for further reading can be found in multiple sections. For example, a report on tobacco use among youth would be listed under Topic: Tobacco and under Demographic: Youth.
The Toolbox contains materials on interpreting data, reading tables and graphs, calculating rates, understanding time trends, differentiating between cause and correlation, and between percent difference and percent change, as well as materials used in the Epi Profile Training that was part of the Fall Forums in 2007.
If you would like a community resource, article or link added to www.sumn.org, please submit your request to sumn@miph.org. All requests will be reviewed by the Minnesota State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup.

Coming Soon: Data by Demographic

[back to top]

Downloads

Substance Use in Minnesota

Toolbox

Table of Contents:

How to Use This Site:

Use Data by Topic to access maps, charts and trends!

Downloads

Analyzing Indicators

Causation vs. Correlation

Choosing Appropriate Reporting Methods

Data Use Tip Sheet

Epi Profile Training from Fall Forums

Frameworks

Glossary

Percent Change

Sharing Findings

Data Sources