Health Improvement Zones

SCPH is committed to reducing health disparities and improving health which requires focusing on the root causes and determinants of poor health outcomes in our community such as poverty, education, employment, housing, access to healthcare, clean air and water, and access to healthy foods.

SCPH administers a grant program funded by the Ohio Department of Health titled: Ohio Health Improvement Zones Pilot Project (OI23). The ultimate goal is to improve health and social outcomes for people experiencing health disparities and inequities and increase community resilience to respond to, withstand, and recover from adverse situations.

Ohio Health Improvement Zones (OHIZ) refer to any community with a Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) Score of .75 or higher. The SVI measures the socioeconomic and demographic factors that affect the resilience of individuals and communities – the ability to prevent human suffering and financial loss in a disaster. The SVI uses the most current data available from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey to assign each census tract in the nation a score ranging from 0 – 1, detailing areas of high and areas of low SVI. The SVI is comprised of 15 indicators grouped into 4 themes: socioeconomic status, household composition and disability, minority and language, and housing and transportation. Census tracts with scores of .75 and greater are designated as Ohio’s Health Improvement Zones.

The ultimate goal is to improve health and social outcomes for people experiencing health disparities and inequities and increase community resilience to respond to, withstand, and recover from adverse situations.

The goals for the OHIZ Pilot Project are to:

  • support strategies for both individual and community level change through community engagement and activation
  • support systems change through alignment of resources around specific communities with multiple barriers to health

For more information on Ohio’s Health Improvement Zones and to use an interactive mapping tool.

Ohio Health Improvement Zones.