COO Composite Index Map (updated 2022)
The COO Composite Index was first developed in 2012 and includes a set of indicators for different health and socioeconomic domains to examine their combined impact on community health and well-being (see the Data sources & notes tab). A composite index can summarize complex or multidimensional data or measures.
For COO’s 2022 Place-based and Cultural Community Partnerships (PBCC) Request for Proposals (RFP) COO will focus resources on partnerships in communities in the highest 20 percentiles (first quintile; dark blue) in the composite index for health and well-being indicators for places; and for cultural and identity based communities most adversely affected by inequities, using composite index scores as a guide. This includes, isolated rural communities with significant disparities compared to the areas in which they are located.
The composite index quintiles are ranked from a strengths-based perspective, such that those areas have the lowest health and well-being indicators, and therefore, the greatest opportunity to close the gaps that exist, are ranked higher in the composite score.
Notes on how to read and use the above map:
Hovering over map areas with your mouse displays the specific census tract, King County Health Reporting Area, indicator being displayed, quintile ranking, and % of the indicator selected in that area (e.g. % reported poor housing condition in that census tract area).
Indicators here refer to data that reflects aspects of population-level health and well-being conditions: life expectancy, obesity, smoking, diabetes, frequent mental distress, poverty level, poor housing conditions, employment status, and insurance status.
Map data shows indicators by 2010 census tract and King County Health Reporting Area (HRA) “neighborhood”; COO understands that these are likely not the geographic or neighborhood area boundaries or descriptions community members themselves use, but are presented as one view of geographic patterns in health and well-being indicators.
A quintile refers to any of five equal groups into which a population can be divided according to the distribution of values of a particular variable (for example, the “top 20” songs of the top 100 singles chart). Therefore, the highest quintile in this map is the highest 20 percentiles (1-20), the next highest quintile is the next 20 percentiles (21-40), and so on.
The map displays areas of King County in comparison with one another and are not ranked related to areas, averages, or communities outside of King County, for example, more broadly in Washington State, or the United States.
To view the map distribution based on specific underlying indicators of the Composite Index such as Life Expectancy, Obesity rates, rate of Diabetes, etc., select the specific indicator of interest and wait for the map to refresh.
For the life expectancy view only, the legend is reverse of other indicators, so that the highest 20% (in dark blue) reflects a lower average life expectancy. All other indicators, when selected, show that the highest percentiles indicate more of, or greater of, that indicator (e.g. greater rate of unemployment).
Select the Data sources & notes tab to view the data source information and where each indicator value data comes from, as well as details on the composite ranking calculation.