Table 1 Description of public health and justice factors used in the models
Variable | Source |
|---|---|
Demographics of the County | |
Size. Indicator variables were created for the three county populations: < 250,000, between 250,000 and 750,000, and over 750,000 | U.S. Census Population Estimates [54] |
Percent of population living in a rural part of the county | U.S. Census Population Estimates [54] |
Median household income | Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates [54] |
Income inequality which reflects the difference between the 80th and 20th income percentiles | American Community Survey, 5-year estimates [54] |
High school graduation rate | EDFacts [54] |
Percent of population that are African American | U.S. Census Population Estimates [54] |
Percent of population that are Hispanic | U.S. Census Population Estimates [54] |
Health Care Related Variables | |
Number of physically unhealthy days or days an individual indicates they were not feeling well | Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System [54] |
Primary care physician rate based on number of physicians in a county | Area Health Resource File/American Medical Association [54] |
Total amount of costs from health care | Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care [54] |
Percent of drug treatment services paid by Medicaid | IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics [1] |
Indicator of a medical school in the county | Association of American Medical Colleges [2] |
Psychiatrists per capita | American Health Resources File [54] |
Licensed psychologists per capita, indicating the total number of licensed psychologists divided by the total county population | American Health Resources File [54] |
Community MH centers per capita to indicate outpatient services | American Health Resources File [54] |
Crime-Related Variables | |
Violent crime rate comprised of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault per adult population | Uniform Crime Reporting [54] |
Police per capita indicating number of police officers divided by the total county population | |
Outcome Variable | |
Jail population per capita, indicating the average daily number of individuals in a jail divided by the total county population | Bureau of Justice Statistics (2015) [60] |