1. Home
  2. Organizations
  3. Public Health Alliance of ...
  4. Healthy Places Index Report

Healthy Places Index Report

Many governmental entities, academic institutions, and private organizations have developed composite indexes of disadvantage or opportunity. These measures allow policy makers and communities to target interventions and resources to areas with the greatest cumulative extent of deprivation. In 2015, using a framework of the social determinants of health (SDOH), the Public Health Alliance of Southern California ("Alliance") created the Health Disadvantage Index (HDI), which ranked California census tracts on a composite score of disadvantage and displayed the results with maps. The HDI summarized the conditions and the levels of key resources in a community that foster a healthy population and health equity. In 2017, the index was updated in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Center of Society and Health and a Steering Committee made up of local and state health department representatives and other subject matter experts. The update was also informed by user feedback and included more recent data for indicators, new methods to strengthen the validity and power of the index to predict health outcomes, a version that included a race/ethnicity domain, expanded communications strategies, and enhanced capabilities of the website mapping application. The updated index was rebranded as the California Healthy Places Index (HPI).

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Author Public Health Alliance of Southern California
Last Updated March 20, 2021, 05:59 (UTC)
Created January 11, 2021, 18:47 (UTC)
Additional Information Generally covering the period 2011 to 2015, data from eight primary sources were downloaded from public internet sites, and processed with R and SAS batch programs into individual indicator files. Indicators were screened for a) census tracts with missing data and b) their simple statistical correlation with life expectancy at birth (LEB). A few indicators with a large amount of missing data or correlations with LEB contrary to reports in the literature were excluded from the index. Indicator values were imputed for a small percentage of census tracts with missing data. Indicators in multivariable domains were assessed for co-linearity, which was not present at levels warranting elimination. Each indicator was scaled in the same direction (higher value → more advantage) and standardized using its Z-score. The arithmetic average of individual indicators' Z-scores was calculated for each domain. The HPI total score was the sum of the weighted domain averages. Domain weights were estimated using a regression technique called weighted quantile score, which estimates the relative contributions of correlated variables that tend to cluster in natural groupings (domains), and are associated with an independent outcome. The weights were estimated in such a way to optimize the correlation of the HPI and LEB and its variance-explained (R square) in simple linear regression. The HPI and domain scores and individual indicator values were also expressed in percentiles so that census tracts could be ranked. and factors associated with places in which they live. In examining these patterns across the entire state
Citation Delaney, T., Dominie, W., Downing, H., & Maizlish, N. (2018, July 8). Healthy Places Index. Retrieved March 10, 2021, from http://healthyplacesindex.org
Contact Email PHASoCal@phi.org
Data Collection Tool The HPI incorporated the same SDOH framing and many of the same domains and indicators as the HDI, whose data generally covered the time period from 2008 to 2012. The HPI consists of 25 individual indicators organized in 8 policy action areas (domains) of economy, education, healthcare access, housing, neighborhoods, clean environment, transportation, and social environment. The criteria for including indicators were: 1) publically available data for census tracts with a 2010 population of 1500 or more residents and a group quarters population less than 50% of the total population, 2) evidence from the scientific literature linking the indicator to health, 3) "actionability" through policy, systems, and environmental change, 4) continuity with the HDI, and 5) compatibility with indicator projects sponsored by CDPH. The Steering Committee highlighted a need to validate the HPI against a health outcome and to explore methods to establish domain weights that refined the range of estimates reported in the scientific literature. The Steering Committee also recommended exploring an optional domain for race/ethnicity, residential segregation, and/or racism.
Frequency Annually
Homepage URL http://phasocal.org/
Language English
Limitations
Maintainer
Program Public Health Alliance of Southern California
Related Citations 1. McLennan D, Barnes H, Noble M, Davies J, Garratt E. The English Indexes of Deprivation 2010. London, UK: Department for Communities and Local Government; 2011.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6320/1870718.pdf2. Messer LC, Laraia BA, Kaufman JS, Eyster J, Holzman C, J C. The development of a standardized neighborhood deprivation index. Journal of Urban Health. 2006;83(6):1041–1062.3. Singh GK, Azuine RE, Siahpush M, Kogan MD. All-cause and cause-specific mortality among US youth: socioeconomic and rural-urban disparities and international patterns. . J Urban Health. 2013;90(3):388-405.4. Lantz PM, Pritchard A. Socioeconomic indicators that matter for population health. Prev Chronic Dis. 2010;7(4):A74.5. Evans GW, English K. The environment of poverty: multiple stressor exposure, psychophysiological stress, and socioemotional adjustment. Child Dev. 2002;73:1238-1248.6. Ross CE, Mirowsky J. Neighborhood disadvantage, disorder, and health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 2001;4:258-276.7. Woolf S, Laudan A, eds. U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health. Washington, DC: National Research Council and Institute of Medicine; 2013.http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13497/us-health-in-international-perspective-shorter-lives-poorer-health8. Diez Rouz AV, Mair C. Neighborhoods and health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2010;1186:125-145.9. Kreiger N, Zierler S, Hogan JW, Waterman P, Chen J, Lemieux K, et al. Geocoding and Measurement of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Position. A U.S. Perspective. In: Kawachi I & Berkman L. Neighborhoods and Health. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; 2003.10. Townsend P. Deprivation. Journal of Social Policy. 1987;16(2):125-146.11. Pink B. Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas. Technical Paper 2033.0.55.001. Sydney, Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics; 2011.http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/22CEDA8038AF7A0DCA257B3B00116E34/$File/2033.0.55.001%20seifa%202011%20technical%20paper.pdf12. World Health Organization. Health Impact Assessment: Determinants of Health. Geneva: World health Organization; 2015.http://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/13. Bhatia R, Maizlish N. Methodology for a Health Disadvantage Index for California. Final Report (1/21/2016). Berkeley, CA and Los Angeles, CA: The Civic Engine and the Public Health Alliance of Southern California; 2016.http://phasocal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/HDI1.1FinalReport2016-01-26.pdf14. Maizlish N. Technical Documentation: Health Disadvantage Index (HDI 1.1, 1/21/2016). Los Angeles, CA: Public Health Alliance of Southern California; 2016.15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Social Determinants of Health: Know What Affects Health. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2017.https://www.cdc.gov/socialdeterminants/ 3516. University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. County Health Rankings: Our Approach. http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/our-approach;2017.17. U.S. Census Bureau. 2010 Census Geography Note 5, California. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of Census; 2013.http://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/Geography_Notes.pdf18. Booske B, Athens J, KindigD, Park H, Remington P. Different Perspectives For Assigning Weights To Determinants of Health. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute; 2010.http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/sites/default/files/differentPerspectivesForAssigningWeightsToDeterminantsOfHealth.pdf19. Gennings C, Sabo R, Carney E. Identifying subsets of complex mixtures most associated with complex diseases: Polychlorinated biphenyls and endometriosis as a case study. Epidemiology 2010;21:S77–S84.20. Ratcliffe M, Burd C, Holder K, Fields A. Defining Rural at the U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey and Geography Brief ACSGEO-1. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau; 2016.https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/ua/Defining_Rural.pdf21. Iceland J, Weinberg D, Steinmetz E. Racial and Ethnic Residential Segregation in the United States: 1980-2000. CENSR-3. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau; 2002.https://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/censr-3.pdf22. Massey D, Denton N. The dimensions of racial segregation. Social Forces. 1988;67:281-315.23. Bobo L, Charles C, Krystan M, Simmons A. The Real Record on Racial Attitudes. In: Marsden, PV, ed. Social Trends in American Life: Findings from the General Social Survey since 1972. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 2012.http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/bobo/files/2012_real_record_on_racial_attitudes_social_trends_in_american_life_0.pdf24. The Lewis Medford Center. Ethnic Diversity Grows, Neighborhood Integration Lags Behind. Albany, NY: State University of New York; 2001.http://mumford.albany.edu/census/25. Glaeser E, Vigdor J. Racial Segregation in the 2000 Census: Promising News. Washington, DC: The Brooking Institution Center on Urban & Metropolitan Policy; 2001.https://www.brookings.edu/research/racial-segregation-in-the-2000-census-promising-news/26. Quinn L, Pawasarat J. Racial Integration in Urban America: A Block Level Analysis of African American and White Housing Patterns. Milwaukee, WI: Employment and Training Institute, School of Continuing Education, University of Wisconsin; 2003.https://www4.uwm.edu/eti/integration/integration.pdf27. Logan J, Stowell J, Oakley D. Choosing Segregation: Racial Imbalance in American Public Schools, 1990-2000. Albany, NY: The Lewis Mumford Center, State University of New York; 2002.https://s4.ad.brown.edu/Projects/usschools/reports/report4.pdf28. U.S. Census Bureau. 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File —California [machine-readable data files]. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau; 2011.https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/doc/pl94-171.pdf29. Zhang X, Holt J, Yun S, Lu H, Greenlund K, Croft J. Validation of multilevel regression and poststratification methodology for small area estimation of health indicators from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. . Am J Epidemiol. 2015;182:127–137.30. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 500 Cities: Local Data for Better Health Atlanta, GA; 2017.https://www.cdc.gov/500cities/31. Faust J, August L, Alexeeff G, Bangia K, Cendak R, Cheung-Sutton E, et al. California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool, Version 3.0 (June 2018 update): Guidance and Screening Tool. Sacramento, CA: Office of Environmental Health Hazard 36Assessment, Californa Environmental Protection Agency; 2014.http://oehha.ca.gov/ej/pdf/CES20FinalReportUpdateOct2014.pdf32. Nathan RP, Adams CF. Four Perspectives on Urban Hardship. Political Science Quarterly. 1989;104(3):483-508.33. Wright DJ, Montiel LM. Divided They Fall: Hardship in America’s Cities and Suburbs. Albany, NY: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government; 2007.34. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Comunity Health Assessment. Los Angeles: Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Development, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health; 2015.http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/plan/docs/CHA_CHIP/LACDPHCommunityHealthAssessment2015.pdf35. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. 2015 Poverty Guidelines. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2015.36. Center for Family Health Women, Infants and Children Program. State, County and Regional-Level Estimates of WIC Eligibles and Program Reach, California 2011. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Public Health; 2016.37. Office of Policy Development & Research. FY 2016 HUD Income Limits Briefing Material: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; 2016.https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il16/IncomeLimitsBriefingMaterial-FY16.pdf38. Bates L. State Income Limits for 2015. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Housing and Community Development; 2015.http://www.hcd.ca.gov/housing-policy-development/housing-resource-center/reports/state/inc2k15.pdf39. State Water Resources Control Board. California Regulations Related to Drinking Water. §63000.25. Disadvantaged Community. Sacramento, CA: State Water Resources Control Board; 2015.http://www.waterboards.ca.gov40. Fenelon A, Chinn J, Anderson R. A comprehensive analysis of the mortality experience of hispanic subgroups in the United States: Variation by age, country of origin, and nativity. SSM -Population Health 2017;3:245–254.41. Hastings K, Jose P, Kapphahn K, Frank A, Goldstein B, Thompson C, et al. Leading causes of death among Asian American subgroups (2003–2011). PLOS One. 2015;10:e0124341.42. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey. DS. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau; 2011-2015.http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/searchresults.xhtml44. Homer CG, Dewitz JA, Yang L, Jin S, Danielson P, Xian G, et al. Completion of the 2011 National Land Cover Database for the conterminous United States-Representing a decade of land cover change information. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 2015;81(5):345-354.48. Faust J, August L, Bangia K, Schmitz R, Galaviz V, Leichty J, et al. CalEnviroScreen 3.0: Update to the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool Sacramento, CA: Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency; 2017.http://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/calenviroscreen/report/ces3report.pdf50. California Highway Patrol. Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS). Sacramento: California Highway Patrol; 2010.www.chp.ca.gov/switrs/index.htm, accessed 8/2/201051. California Energy Commission. Cal-Adapt: Exploring California's Climate Change Research. Sacranebnto, CA; 2017.http://cal-adapt.org/52. California Department ofForestry and Fire Protection. Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map Update Project, State Responsibility Area (SRA) and Local Responsibility Area (LRA). Sacramento, CA: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection; 2007.http://www.fire.ca.gov/fire_prevention/fire_prevention_wildland_statewide.php 3753. Heberger M, Cooley H, Herrera P, Gleick P, Moore E. The Impacts of Sea Level Rise on the California Coast. Oakland, CA: Pacific Institute; 2009.http://pacinst.org/the-impacts-of-sea-level-rise-on-the-california-coast-gis-data-downloads/54. Taha H. Creating andMapping an Urban Heat Island Index for California. Final Report. Martinez, CA: Altostratus Inc.; 2015.http://www.calepa.ca.gov/UrbanHeat/Report/Report.pdf55. Office of Health Equity. Healthy Communities Data and Indicators Project. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Public Health; 2015.https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/Pages/HealthyCommunityIndicators.aspx56. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports. Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation; 2013.https://oag.ca.gov/crime/cjsc/criminal-justice-profiles57. Palmgren C, Stevens N, Goldberg M, Barnes R, Rothkin K. California Residential Appliance Saturation Survey. Oakland, CA: KEMA, Inc.; 2009.58. U.S. Census Bureau. U.S. Decennial Census. DS. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau; 2010.http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/searchresults.xhtml59. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. Criminal Justice Reform. Washington, D.C.: United States Interagency Council on Homelessness; 2017.https://www.usich.gov/solutions/criminal-justice60. Southern California Association of Governments. Affordable Housing and Anti-Displacement Policies. Los Angeles, CA: Southern California Association of Governments.http://www.scag.ca.gov/Documents/ComprehensiveGuideToLocalAffordableHousingPolicy.pdf61. California Office of Planning and Research. General Plan Guidelines. Sacramento, CA: California Office of Planning and Research; 2017.https://www.opr.ca.gov/planning/general-plan/guidelines.html62. California Department of Parks and Recreation. Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Program. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Parks and Recreation; 2016.http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=26025
Spatial/Geographic Coverage California
Years of Data 2015, 2016, 2017