Correlational Analysis of AIDS Rates
When compared to the national AIDS rate of 339, Maine’s AIDS rate of 95 is encouragingly low (see Table 1). Indeed, as demonstrated in Table 2, the bar graph below and the AIDS rate map, AIDS rates in the majority of Maine’s cities and towns remain far below the national average, with the exception of Ogunquit, a small coastal town with an AIDS rate of 489, that is known by Maine residents to be a popular gay vacation destination (click to learn more about "gay Ogunquit").
Undoubtedly, calculating AIDS rates helps immensely in locating problem areas in the state (e.g., Ogunquit), however, in order to gain a better understanding of AIDS in Maine, it is also necessary to explore the underlying demographic variables that may be contributing to these rates. Specifically, using demographic information from the CENSUS bureau, a correlational analysis was conducted comparing AIDS rates to the following variables in select Maine cities and towns:
· Percent of male-male unmarried partner households
· Percent of foreign-born citizens
· Chlamydia & Gonorrhea rates (per 100,000 people)
