Abstract
Background/Aims Geocodes are used to link individual enrollee records to demographic information from the Census Bureau. Currently, many of the HMORN VDW sites are utilizing software such as MapMarker+ to geocode their data. Acquiring third-party software capable of street-level geocoding is an additional expense that new and current HMORN sites may not have to incur. Geocoding at the street level has been added to the SAS/GRAPH module in the third maintenance release of SAS 9.2, enabling users more flexibility to create powerful geographic analyses and data graphic presentation. This presentation will focus on creating the VDW CENSUS table using PROC GEOCODE in SAS/Graph.
Methods We will present a practical example of how street-level geocoding can be accomplished with SAS/GRAPH and PROC GEOCODE, utilizing an existing VDW project dataset. We will explain what files are needed and where to find them. Talk attendees will learn to take advantage of a readily available SAS procedure to increase their knowledge and skills of an important new analytical research tool.
Results The third maintenance release of SAS 9.2 software allows geocoding at the street level. We will generate the 16 character FIPS codes (Federal information processing standards) using SAS software. This will provide HMORN sites an alternative to MapMarker+ software.
Conclusions Street-level geocoding with SAS appears to represent a substantially easier way to match Census Bureau demographic information with individual enrollee records. It utilizes a VDW analyst’s current SAS expertise without the need to master stand-alone geocoding software or its specialized knowledge requirements, not to mention the additional time or costs involved with incorporating such external programs, e.g. there is no need to convert the data out of SAS datasets and then convert back to SAS datasets.
