New study of Rhode Islanders' health outlines strengths, weaknesses
PROVIDENCE — Housing, employment, transportation, food, and the quality and availability of health care and community services are among the factors influencing the health and well-being of Rhode Islanders, according to a 36-page study unveiled Wednesday at a conference of state, private and Brown University officials held at Brown's South Street Landing complex.
The RI Life Index, produced by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island in partnership with the Brown’s School of Public Health and based on in-depth interviews with more than 2,200 state residents, found strengths in access to health care, safety inside and outside one’s home, and access to affordable and nutritious food, among other factors.
Weaknesses included job opportunities and training, the number of individuals affected by the opioid epidemic, and access to quality affordable housing.
Within each category, the study found differences by age and household income, and between residents of so-called core cities — Woonsocket, Central Falls, Pawtucket and Providence — and other communities. In every category, core-city residents fared worse than their counterparts outside of Rhode Island’s old industrial center, where poverty persists, a finding in line with other analyses of the state’s population health.
“Zip code is really more important than genetic code,” said Kim Keck, president and CEO of Blue Cross & Blue Shield Rhode Island, the state’s largest insurer. “Clearly that's what all the literature says and what you’ll see today is that it’s as true as can be here in the state of Rhode Island.”
In her remarks, Bess Marcus, dean of Brown’s School of Public Health, described influences that medical and public-health experts increasingly agree are as vital to individual and group health as the annual checkup or flu shot.
“Social determinants of health are conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age that shape their health,” Marcus said. “They include factors like socio-economic status, education, neighborhood and physical environment, employment and social-support networks, as well as access to health care.”
She added: “In recent years it has become clear that addressing the social determinants of health is important — including in reducing longstanding disparities in health and health care.”
The data in the RI Life Index, officials said Wednesday, will help in understanding work that remains and in developing approaches to accomplish that. The index will be enhanced by further surveys.
“The School of Public Health worked to develop and ensure the highest quality data collection for the Life Index survey,” said Melissa Clark, Brown professor and director of the School of Public Health’s Survey Research Center. "Social determinants of health, such as the cost of housing and employment issues, often make it incredibly challenging for many families to experience the highest quality of health and well-being.”
One new approach Blue Cross will employ, according to Keck, is the insurer’s planned investments in housing initiative through its BlueAngel Community Health Grants program. The insurer is in the process of determining amounts and possible recipients in 2020. No further details were disclosed on Wednesday.
The index, and the challenges posed by it, were discussed by a panel that included Dr. Matt Collins, chief medical officer for Blue Cross; Dr. Ada Amobi from the state Health Department’s Health Equity Institute; Angela Bannerman Ankoma of United Way of Rhode Island; Carrie Bridges Feliz, director of Lifespan’s Community Health Institute; and Mathew Johnson, executive director of Brown’s Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service.
Among those in the audience were state Sen. Josh Miller, and Neil D. Steinberg and Jessica David from the Rhode Island Foundation, which invests heavily in health initiatives.
Read the RI Life Index: https://www.bcbsri.com/newsroom/viewpoints/rhode-island-life-index
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