The King County Social and Health Indicator Initiative developed a core set of social and health indicators through an 18-month iterative process involving citizens and technical experts. The indicators selected were grouped into four major domains: Basic Needs and Social Determinants of Wellbeing, Positive Development through Life Stages, Safety and Health, and Community Strengths. The first Community Health Report Card on these indicators was released and broadly disseminated to ensure their use by private and public sectors, funders and citizens. The report provides variations by sub-regions within the county and disparities by race, gender, income, and age.
The indicators are based on both available data and new data collection particularly in the areas of community-level strengths and structure. We will highlight primary data collection methods used including telephone surveys and qualitative methods used to hear from groups not represented in the telephone surveys. We will describe specific measures of interest including social cohesion, freedom from discrimination, family-friendly employer benefits, institutional support for community service, involvement in community organizations, developmental assets in youth, perceptions of neighborhood safety, and income inequity. We also will discuss the partnership and collaboration involved to complete this project and plans to sustain the effort.
Through this initiative, King County residents, public officials and private sector leaders have a more complete picture of community strengths and problems that reflect their opinions on what they value in their families and communities, what they think creates and sustains healthy people and strong neighborhoods.
Learning Objectives: 1. Distinguish indicators that reflect community level variables from those reflecting individual level variables. 2.Recognize the potential and challenge of community report cards to influence local policy and community action to address issues such as employee and school support for community service, social cohesion, and income inequity. 3. Identify the relative advantages of "housing" a community health report card project in a local public health department
Keywords: Community Health, Indicators
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.