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How to Read an NM-IBIS Indicator Graph

If you go to any NM-IBIS Indicator Report (which you can do from the Indicator Reports A-Z Index) you will see a graph. The typical graph, such as the one below, shows the New Mexico trend over time along with the U.S. trend over time. In epidemiology, we tend to look at "Person, Place and Time." So many of the NM-IBIS indicator graphs will provide indicator data with different graph views for different people (e.g., by sex and age), places (e.g., statewide and by county) and different time periods (e.g., a trend graph).

Parts of a Graph

Below is a typical graph from an actual NM-IBIS indicator report. There are different kinds of graphs, such as pie graphs, line graphs, and bar graphs. The graph displayed here is a line graph.



Putting it All Together

In summary, New Mexico's teen birth rates have been consistently higher than the comparable U.S. rates for both the 15 to 17, and 18 to 19 age groups. In both instances the New Mexico rates are statistically significantly higher than the U.S. rates. Teen birth rates have been decreasing in both New Mexico and the United States for most of the past 24 years.

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