What is the Sharecare Community Well-Being Index?
The Sharecare Community Well-Being Index is a measure targeted toward understanding how the context of behaviors, perceptions, and environment can have an impact on health and well-being. The Index is comprised of 10 underlying sub-domains found within two smaller indices – The Well-Being Index and the Social Determinants of Health Index – to form a single measurement.
How is data collected for the Sharecare Community Well-Being Index?
Sharecare and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) partnered to collect more than 450,000 surveys across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including data collection across multiple digital platforms, to align to state-based representation across demographic groups, including sex, racial and ethnic groups, and age bands.
In order to contextualize social determinants of health, Sharecare and BUSPH leveraged our second-generation Social Determinants of Health Index (SDOHi), including context tied to access across food, healthcare, and resources as well as economic security and infrastructure tied to housing and public transportation. Data for this measure is collected from a numerous publicly available sources, updated based on new availability.
Massachusetts’ top position in Sharecare’s Community Well-Being Index, 2020 State Rankings Report is a result of its strong scores across both SDOH and individual health factors, in the state achieved top 10 rankings for eight out of 10 of the Index’s sub-domains: financial well-being (#5), social well-being (#7), purpose well-being (#6), physical well-being (#5), community (#6), housing and transportation (#2), healthcare access (#1), and food access (#7).
Other noteworthy themes among thriving states include Hawaii – a veteran and leading state for overall well-being since 2008 – ranking #1 for six out of the 10 Index sub-domains across financial well-being, social well-being, purpose well-being, physical well-being, community, and housing and transportation. In addition, Maryland – for the first time in Community Well-Being Index history – ranked #2 for all five individual health factors and among the top 10 states in two SDOH sub-domains, housing and transportation (#7) and healthcare access (#6), contributing to the shift in its overall Index ranking from #11 in 2019 to #4 in 2020.
California – ranked #6 in Sharecare’s 2020 Community Well-Being Index State Rankings – assumed the #1 position in the food access sub-domain for the second year in a row. Other top rankings were assumed by Vermont, ranked #1 in resource access, and North Dakota ranked #1 in economic security. Although California ranked among the top 10 states in the Index, it assumed the #41 position in economic security and the bottom position in resource access, exposing a lack of essential community resources such as libraries, churches, senior employment, and more across the state.
Mississippi assumed the very bottom position in the Community Well-Being Index 2020 state rankings, standing in the bottom quintile for each of the 10 sub-domains except resource access.
Other states with room for improvement include Arkansas, which ranked last in physical well-being; Idaho, which ranked last in healthcare access; New Mexico, which ranked last in the community sub-domain; and West Virginia, which ranked last in economic security.
How can I get access to the Sharecare Community Well-Being Index data?
Sharecare collaborates with researchers and academic groups to advance our understanding of community well-being, nationally and regionally. In addition, we partner with commercial entities on data access and analyses that enable and enhance community intervention and health equity strategies. If you are interested in engaging across further, please reach out to us direct at cwbi@sharecare.com.
