Salt Lake City—An updated online tool allows Utahns to research the overall health of their communities based on factors such as education, housing, or clean air.
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) launched the 2.0 version of the Utah Healthy Places Index (HPI) on April 24. The updated tool breaks down data on factors that impact a person’s health by neighborhood and helps community leaders understand how different neighborhoods experience these conditions. It also includes evidence-based resources community leaders can use to find ways to make their communities healthier.
“Our neighborhoods and communities have a strong connection to well-being and life expectancy,” said Sarah Hodson, deputy director with the DHHS Office of Health Promotion and Prevention. “The Utah Healthy Places Index provides important information everyone can use to improve the area they call home and the state as a whole.”
The new version of Utah HPI includes updated data using 2020 census geographies, more than 30 new information layers, and a tool to compare different time periods.
“The place people call home has a big influence on health outcomes,” said Tracy Gruber, DHHS executive director. “This tool can help all Utahns identify the factors we can improve to give everyone a fair equitable opportunity to live a safe and healthy life.”
The Utah HPI can be used to:
- Compare data across different areas in Utah.
- Use side-by-side maps to compare data.
- View data by a variety of geographies like Utah small area, ZIP code, census tract, county, and more.
- Find evidence-based policies that worked in other communities.
- Access hundreds of data indicators, including measures of health risk and protective factors, schools and education, and health outcomes.
“Information is powerful. The Utah HPI tool can improve people’s lives by allowing communities to identify the problems and prioritize funding and resources to address those problems,” Hodson said.
The Utah Healthy Places Index tool was developed by the DHHS Office of Health Promotion and Prevention in partnership with the Public Health Alliance of Southern California, creators of the California Healthy Places Index™. Nearly 100 partners from industries across Utah provided input on what data and policies were important to include to customize the tool for Utah communities.
The Utah HPI tool is available at https://dhhs.utah.gov/utahhpi/.
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