Exploratory cluster analysis of behavioral risks for chronic disease and injury: implications for tailoring health promotion services.

Identifying population subgroups with similar behavioral risks could assist in the social marketing of health promotion programs by providing target segments to whom services and outreach could be specifically matched. In this paper we describe an exploratory application of cluster analysis to health behavior data from a representative telephone sample of Michigan adults (n = 2,285). In addition to replication of the cluster solution through cross validation, we found significant between cluster demographic differences further confirming cluster validity. Demographic and risk profiles of four clusters are presented, and key health promotion services appropriate to each cluster are discussed. Although further research on the construct validity of the clusters is critical, we conclude that this approach can be useful in tailoring health promotion messages, materials, and services.