The SVI has been used to assess hazard mitigation plans in the southeastern US, evaluate social vulnerability in connection to obesity, explore the impact of climate change on human health, create case studies for community resilience policy, and even to look beyond disasters in examining a community’s physical fitness.
The SVI was also used by public health researchers to explore the association between vulnerability and covid-19 incidence in Louisiana Census Tracts. Previous research examining associations between the CDC SVI and early covid-19 incidence had mixed results at a county level, but Biggs et al.’s study found that all four CDC SVI sub-themes demonstrated association with covid-19 incidence (in the first six months of the pandemic). Census tracts with higher levels of social vulnerability experienced higher covid-19 incidence rates. Authors of this paper point to the long history of racial residential segregation in the United States as an important factor shaping vulnerability and covid-19 incidence along racialized lines, with primarily Black neighborhoods typically most disadvantaged relative to primarily white neighborhoods. The compounding factors shaping vulnerability along racialized lines—high rates of poverty, low household income, and lower educational attainment—are identified as shaping the likelihood of covid-19 infection. The authors encourage policy initiatives that not only mitigate covid-19 transmission through allocation of additional resources and planning, but that also “address the financial and emotional distress following the covid-19 epidemic among the most socially vulnerable populations” (Biggs et al., 2021).
Biggs, Erin N., Patrick M. Maloney, Ariane L. Rung, Edward S. Peters, and William T. Robinson. 2021. “The Relationship Between Social Vulnerability and COVID-19 Incidence Among Louisiana Census Tracts.” Frontiers in Public Health 8. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.617976.
Lehnert, Erica Adams, Grete Wilt, Barry Flanagan, and Elaine Hallisey. 2020. “Spatial Exploration of the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index and Heat-Related Health Outcomes in Georgia.” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 46 (June): 101517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101517.
This resource has been used in a publication written by Hoang et al., 2018 on the economic cost of the Formosa Toxic Waste Disaster in Central Vietnam. It is specifically used within the journal article to highlight the forms in which disasters can take place within a nation, and the rising cases of industrial disasters that have afflicted vulnerable communities within the last decade. This characterization sets the stage and context for the Formosa disaster, and integrates it within a wider conversation about the effects of intensified industrialization on the environment.
The PVI dashboard is included in the CDCD’s Covid-19 Data Tracker as part of the “Unique Populations” tab.
NIEHS also developed Covid-19 PVI lesson plans for high school students (grades 9 – 12) to learn to examine risk factors associated with Covid-19 using the index. The goals of the curriculum are to provide students with a tool for examining the spread and health outcomes of a pandemic, to promote their awareness of how various factors (biological, social, behavioral, etc.) impact disease spread and outcomes, and to support the development of prevention and intervention strategies that reduce exposures to risk factors and their adverse health impacts. The lesson plans highlight the significance of social and environmental determinants in public health.
Learning objectives of the curriculum include:
The PVI dashboard was also used by anthropologist Jayajit Chakraborty to examine the relationship between Covid-19 vulnerability and disability status in the US. Chakraborty applied the dashboard and data from the 2019 American Community Survey to investigate whether vulnerability to the pandemic has been significantly greater in counties containing higher percentages of people with disabilities in four timeframes from May 2020 to February 2021. Chakraborty found that the percentage of people with disabilities (as well as those reporting other cognitive, vision, ambulatory, self-care and independent living difficulties) was significantly greater in counties with the highest 20% of the PVI. Chakraborty calls for further research to better understand the adverse impacts of Covid-19 on PwDs (people with disabilities).
Chakraborty, J. Vulnerability to the COVID-19 Pandemic for People with Disabilities in the U.S. Disabilities 2021, 1, 278-285. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities1030020
This data has been used for assessments, decision making, and planning on a state, regional and local level in California by a wide range of actors, which include:
· California Department of Public Health
· Governor’s Office of Planning and Research
· California Environmental Justice Alliance
· the Hospital Association of Southern California
· County Public Health Departments
· Local/regional healthcare providers
For instance, Kaiser Permanente used the HPI in conducting a community health needs assessments for several areas in southern California (to comply with federal tax law requiring them to conduct a health needs assessment at least once every three years). They used the tool to identify the most under-resourced geographic communities and identify the factors that are most predictive of negative health outcomes.
For this community health assessment, researchers also consulted residents, community leaders, government and public health department representatives through surveys, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups. The assessment identified several health needs that needed to be prioritized: access to healthcare, economic security, mental health, stroke, and suicide. This was used to guide implementation strategies in partnership with community-based organizations, hospitals and groups (e.g. identifying reducing food insecurity as a strategic priority and designing/implementing food benefits programs).
Other reports using the HPI include the Solano County Public Health Departments’ report entitled “Maternal and Child Verification of Cumulative Health Impacts from Social Factors,” the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health city and community health profiles, and the California Environmental Justice Alliance’s SB 1000 Toolkit.
Google Scholar search for “Louisiana Tumor Registry”
“Air pollution is linked to higher cancer rates among black or impoverished communities in Louisiana”, Kimberly A Terrell and Gianna St Julien 2022 Environ. Res. Lett. 17 014033 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac4360#artAbst