INCOME
Poverty is many times associated with lack of education, improper health care, and improper living conditions. Lack of education and health care can both contribute to high rates of AIDS in an area, as if people are unaware of causes of AIDS and do not have access to proper treatment and diagnostic tests, AIDS rates climb. Looking at the data provided by the United States Census Bureau for median household income, percentage of households on public assistance, and households that lack proper plumbing, significant correlations between these variables and AIDS rates are found. Median household income showed a strong negative relationship with a correlation coefficient of -0.705 showing a strong association between low income and high AIDS rates, which was expected. Teaneck shows the highest median household income with $74,903 while East Orange has the lowest with $32,364. Accordingly, Teaneck has a low (though not the lowest) AIDS rate of 425 while East Orange has the high rate of 3,070.
|
|
|
According to the US Census, households are eligible for public assistance if they are receiving income from general assistance and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). In order for a family to be eligible for TANF in New Jersey, they must “meet income and resource eligibility, provide all necessary documentation, sign an agreement to repay benefits in the event receipt of income or resources, obtain and provide social security numbers for all members of the assistance unit, and comply with personal identification requirements, which may employ the use of high technology processes for the detection of fraud” (5). There is a correlation coefficient of 0.92 between the percent of households on public assistance and the AIDS rate . This is the highest correlation that I calculated and shows a very strong relationship between the two variables.
 
|
|
As an indication of poverty and a complete lack of sanitation in living conditions, looking at percentages of households with incomplete plumbing facilities seemed like a variable that would correlate well with high AIDS rates. According to the US Census, households with incomplete plumbing lack “hot and cold piped water, a flush toilet, and a bathtub or shower”. A significant correlation of 0.663 is found between this variable and high AIDS rates. The city of Orange located in Essex County has the highest percentage of households that lack plumbing at 2.23% and has a high AIDS rate of 1,795. Data for the variables involving income was found in Summary File 3 of the US Census Bureau in tables P53, P64, and H47.
 
|
|