Imagine a Rhode Island where every person has a fair and just opportunity to be healthy. This is known as health equity. We all want to live in a place without obstacles to health like poverty and discrimination. And we all want to live in communities where we and our loved ones can access good jobs with fair pay, quality education, and safe environments. Yet in every neighborhood, a range of conditions affect people's health and safety every day.
Up to 80 percent of our health is determined outside the doctor's office and inside our homes, schools, jobs, and communities. (more) Generations-long social, economic, and environmental inequities have resulted in adverse health outcomes. They affect communities differently, and have a greater influence on health outcomes than individual choices or one's ability to access healthcare.
Reducing these inequities can help improve opportunities for every Rhode Islander. To improve surveillance of the socioeconomic and environmental factors that drive health inequities, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) collaborated with community partners to form the Community Health Assessment Group and develop Rhode Island's first set of statewide health equity measures.
Purpose
To serve as Rhode Island's statewide standard for assessing the State's progress towards health equity.
How data can be used
We encourage Rhode Islanders to collaborate across sectors to address barriers to health and advance health equity. The Rhode Island Health Equity Measures can help identify systems and policies that affect the ability of every Rhode Islander to live a healthy life and achieve their full potential. They are intended to help communities assess the impact of health equity initiatives, such as Rhode Island's Health Equity Zones, by providing baseline data and supporting outcomes evaluation. They also provide a way to measure our shared progress.
Key Information
Through an extensive community engagement process, the Community Health Assessment Group developed a core set of 15 measures in five domains that affect health equity: integrated healthcare, community resiliency, physical environment, socioeconomics, and community trauma. Data come from various sources. When possible, data are reported by geographic location, race/ethnicity, disability status, income level, or other demographic characteristics.
Integrated Healthcare
Healthcare Access
| Measure | Percentage of adults who reported not seeking medical care or dental care due to cost (2 measures) |
| Data Source | Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System |
| Strata | Race/Ethnicity, Income, Education, Disability status |
| Most Disavantaged Group | Hispanics (24%) and households with income less than $20,000 (21%) |
| Learn More | more |
Social Services
| Measure | Ratio: Number of individuals receiving to number of individuals eligible for SNAP benefits, based on income |
| Data Source | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), US Census Bureau |
| Strata | City/Town |
| Most Disavantaged Group | New Shoreham (12.5%), Narragansett (19.7%), Little Compton (26.9%) |
| Notes | "Most disadvantaged" means the lowest proportion of people utilizing SNAP compared to the estimated number of people eligible (below 185% of the Federal Poverty Line). |
| Learn More | more |
Behavioral Health
| Measure | Ratio: Number of naloxone kits distributed to number of overdose deaths |
| Data Source | Rhode Island Department of Health | Prevent Overdose RI website |
| Strata | City/Town |
| Most Disavantaged Group | Portsmouth (0.8), Coventry (2.78). East Providence, (7.22) (among cities/towns with valid data for both overdose deaths and naloxone kits) |
| Notes | A higher ratio is better. Overdose death rates are suppressed for cities/towns with fewer than five overdoses for purposes of statistical reliability and to protect confidentiality. |
| Learn More | more |
Community Resiliency
Civic Engagement
| Measure | Percentage of registered voters participating in the most recent presidential election |
| Data Source | Rhode Island Board of Elections |
| Strata | City/Town |
| Most Disavantaged Groups | Central Falls (43%), Providence (45%), Woonsocket (46%) |
| Learn More | more |
Social Vulnerability
| Measure | Index score that reflect the social vulnerability of communities |
| Data Source | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) |
| Strata | Census tract |
| Learn More | more |
Equity in Policy
| Measure | Ratio: Number of low- to moderate-income housing units to number of low- to moderate-income households |
| Data Source | HousingWorks RI, Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy |
| Strata | City/Town |
| Learn More | more |
Physical Environment
Natural Environment
| Measure | Tree Equity Score |
| Data Source | Tree Equity Score |
| Strata | Census Block Group and Municipality |
| Learn More | more |
Transportation
| Measure | Index score that reflects the affordability of transportation for renters |
| Data Source | US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Low-Cost Transportation Index |
| Strata | City/Town, Census tract |
| Learn More | more |
Environmental Hazards
| Measure | Number and percentage of children with blood lead levels > 5 micrograms/deciliter |
| Data Source | Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) Environmental Lead Program |
| Strata | City/Town |
| Learn More | more |
Socioeconomics
Housing Cost Burden
| Measure | Percentage of renters and owners who are housing cost burdened |
| Data Source | 2013-2017 American Community Survey - Selected Housing Characteristics |
| Strata | City/Town |
| Learn More | more |
Food Insecurity
| Measure | Percentage of population who are food insecure |
| Data Source | Feeding America - Map the Meal Gap |
| Strata | County |
| Learn More | more |
Education
| Measure | Percentage of high school students graduating with a regular diploma within four years |
| Data Source | Rhode Island Department of Education |
| Strata | City/Town, Race/Ethnicity, Economic Status, Disability |
| Learn More | more |
Community Trauma
Discrimination
| Measure | Percentage of adults reporting racial discrimination in healthcare settings in the past 12 months |
| Data Source | Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (available 2020) |
| Strata | To be determined |
Criminal Justice
| Measure | Number of non-violent offenders under RI probation and parole (per 1,000 resident age 18+) |
| Data Source | Rhode Island Department of Corrections, US Census Bureau |
| Strata | City/Town |
| Learn More | more |
Public Safety
| Measure | Violent crime rate and non-violent crime rate (per 100,000 people) |
| Data Source | RI State Police Uniform Crime Reports, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program |
| Strata | City/Town |
| Learn More | more |