The Health Equity Index is a tool developed by Conduent Healthy Communities Institute and part of the SocioNeeds Index® Suite. It was formerly titled the SocioNeeds Index. It is a measure of socioeconomic need that is correlated with poor health outcomes.
All zip codes, census tracts, counties, and county equivalents in the United States are given an index value from 0 (low need) to 100 (high need). To help you identify the areas of highest need in your community, the selected locations are ranked from 1 (low need) to 5 (high need) based on their index value.
The Health Equity Index and other indices in SNI Suite can help:
- Justify and validate investments for prevention and early intervention
- Clearly communicate areas for shared action by healthcare, public health, social services, community organizations, business, and others
- Inform policies and interventions at the regional level.