An Environmental Vulnerability Index framework supporting targeted public health interventions at the census tracts level
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BACKGROUND
Analyzing and visualizing disparities in environmental risks can help in assessing place-based vulnerabilities and provide civic leaders and community members with essential data about promoting health equity and inform public health strategies. However, there is a lack of effective and integrative tools for evaluating census tract vulnerabilities.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated the adaption of a previously developed environmental vulnerability index to evaluate cumulative impacts of diverse stressors in Louisville Metro-Jefferson County, KY, with the goal of supporting multi-faceted targeted public health interventions at the census tract-level.
METHODS
We assessed countywide variability in vulnerability using Toxicological Prioritization Index interface across five domains with 32 indicators and modeled the effects of theoretical public health interventions.
RESULTS
Our findings suggest similarly vulnerable areas are not always geographically clustered. Higher vulnerability scores are observed along the western and central areas of the county with lower vulnerability scores in the central urban core and eastern regions. The index enabled the selection of the most at-risk census tracts for modeling targeted public health interventions to reduce cumulative environmental vulnerability.
SIGNIFICANCE
Environmental vulnerabilities are not invariant features of urban environments, rather the knowledge of these risks can guide the development and implementation of targeted solutions.
IMPACT STATEMENT
Targeted interventions to modify environmental conditions that are supportive of health can be developed and implemented locally with greater precision at the census tract level, yielding impactful outcomes.
