Archive_2020 Site | RI Life Index

2020: ZIP Code is more important than genetic code.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island originally set out to create a “life index,” armed with a growing body of evidence that when it comes to health outcomes and overall well-being, zip code is more important than genetic code. Where people are born and live in Rhode Island has a profound impact on their lives. We conducted a first of its kind survey of Rhode Islanders’ perceptions of social determinants of health and well-being as an initial step to inform our future community investments and philanthropy.

What you will find in this document are measures of Rhode Island residents’ perceptions about health and well-being in our state. We wanted to hear from Rhode Islanders themselves about where they feel they and their communities are on the spectrum of health and well-being.

We show here a composite score of essential drivers of health and well-being as defined for the RI Life Index. The topic areas comprise the RI Life Index, focused on community life and quality of community elements, including affordable housing, quality education, and good jobs. We ask consistent questions around these topics every year so that we can address areas of concern and measure progress towards improving the overall quality of life, health, and well-being of Rhode Islanders.

2020
RI LIFE INDEX

Topics include access to affordable housing, childcare and activities for youth, quality education, affordable and nutritious food, good jobs, medical care, programs for seniors, transportation services, feeling safe at home, and cost of living.

RI Life Index: 62; Chart breakdown: Core City: 56 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 64 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

Summary: Perceptions of Community

PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY
QUALITY OF COMMUNITY

DEFINITION
Quality of community scoring represents a summary of how residents rate social and economic aspects of their community, including the following topics:

Access to childcare
Activities for youth
Employment
Access to affordable food
Cost of living
Availability and quality of services and programs for seniors

QUESTION WORDING: For each statement, tell me if that statement is completely descriptive, somewhat descriptive, not very descriptive, or not descriptive at all of your community.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 51 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 58 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY LIFE

DEFINITION
Community life scoring represents a summary of how residents perceive the lived experiences of typical individuals in their community, looking at the following areas:

Employment
Education
Convenient locations for nutritious food
Access to affordable housing
Access to healthcare
Feeling safe at home

QUESTION WORDING: For each statement, please tell me how likely each is for a typical person living in your community: very likely; somewhat likely; somewhat unlikely; and very unlikely

Chart breakdown: Core City: 63 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 72 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

Perceptions of Community: Topics

Here we show perceptions of specific social determinants of health.

PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY
CHILDREN

DEFINITION
How do residents rate programs and services available for children?

TOPICS: Place to raise children; access to quality education; activities for youth

Chart breakdown: Core City: 64 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 76 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

Percentage of respondents who said somewhat or completely descriptive to the following:
I’m going to read you a series of statements that some people make about the area where they live, that is, their community. For each, tell me if that statement is completely descriptive, somewhat descriptive, not very descriptive, or not descriptive at all of your community.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 66, Non-Core: 69 Chart breakdown: Core City: 77, Non-Core: 88
Percentage of respondents who said somewhat or very likely to the following:
For each of the following aspects of life, please tell me how likely each is for a typical person living in your community: very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, very unlikely.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 72, Non-Core: 90

Chart breakdown: Age, Latinx, Black, Income, Some College, College Grad, Disability, Female, Core City

PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY
OLDER ADULTS

DEFINITION
How do residents rate the availability of services in their community for older adults?

TOPICS: Availability of special transportation services; availability of social and civic programs; quality of healthcare services

Chart breakdown: Core City: 62 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 68 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

Percentage of respondents who said somewhat or completely descriptive to the following:
I’m going to read you a series of statements that some people make about the area where they live, that is, their community. For each, tell me if that statement is completely descriptive, somewhat descriptive, not very descriptive, or not descriptive at all of your community.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 85, Non-Core: 82
Percentage of respondents who said good or very good to the following:
Thinking specifically about the experience of older adults in your community, please rate the following things as very good, good, fair, poor, or very poor.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 35, Non-Core: 56 Chart breakdown: Core City: 42, Non-Core: 59

Chart breakdown: Age, Latinx, Black, Income, Some College, College Grad, Disability, Female, Core City

PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY
ACCESS TO NUTRITIOUS FOOD

DEFINITION
How do residents rate access to affordable, nutritious food?

TOPICS: Access to nutritious affordable food; convenience of location of nutritious food

Chart breakdown: Core City: 65 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 73 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

Percentage of respondents who said somewhat or completely descriptive to the following:
I’m going to read you a series of statements that some people make about the area where they live, that is, their community. For each, tell me if that statement is completely descriptive, somewhat descriptive, not very descriptive, or not descriptive at all of your community.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 72, Non-Core: 80

Percentage of respondents who said good or very good to the following:
For each of the following aspects of life, please tell me how likely each is for a typical person living in your community: very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, very unlikely.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 77, Non-Core: 88

Chart breakdown: Age, Latinx, Black, Income, Some College, College Grad, Disability, Female, Core City

PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY
AFFORDABLE HOUSING

DEFINITION
How do residents rate access to affordable, quality housing?

TOPICS: Cost of housing; availability of affordable housing

Chart breakdown: Core City: 40 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 45 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

Percentage of respondents who said somewhat or very likely to the following:
For each of the following aspects of life, please tell me how likely each is for a typical person living in your community: very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, very unlikely.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 61, Non-Core: 75

Percentage of respondents who said somewhat or much better to the following:
For each of the following aspects of life, please tell me how likely each is for a typical person living in your community: very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, very unlikely.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 24, Non-Core: 26

Percentage of respondents who said somewhat or strongly disagree to the following:
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

Chart breakdown: Core City: 26, Non-Core: 27

Chart breakdown: Age, Latinx, Black, Income, Some College, College Grad, Disability, Female, Core City

PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY
COST OF LIVING

DEFINITION
How do residents rate the cost of living in their community?

TOPICS: Affordable, high-quality childcare; cost of quality housing; difficulty paying for utilities

Chart breakdown: Core City: 28 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 33 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

Percentage of respondents who said not very descriptive or not descriptive at all to the following:
I’m going to read you a series of statements that some people make about the area where they live, that is, their community. For each, tell me if that statement is completely descriptive, somewhat descriptive, not very descriptive, or not descriptive at all of your community.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 18, Non-Core: 21 Chart breakdown: Core City: 17, Non-Core: 16

Chart breakdown: Age, Latinx, Black, Income, Some College, College Grad, Disability, Female, Core City

PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY
JOB OPPORTUNITIES

DEFINITION
How do residents rate job opportunities and job training programs?

TOPICS: Availability of jobs; employment with living wage; access to adult education

Chart breakdown: Core City: 52 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 58 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

Percentage of respondents who said somewhat or completely descriptive to the following:
I’m going to read you a series of statements that some people make about the area where they live, that is, their community. For each, tell me if that statement is completely descriptive, somewhat descriptive, not very descriptive, or not descriptive at all of your community.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 44, Non-Core: 51

Percentage of respondents who said somewhat or very likely to the following:
For each of the following aspects of life, please tell me how likely each is for a typical person living in your community: very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, very unlikely.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 56, Non-Core: 69 Chart breakdown: Core City: 58, Non-Core: 66

Chart breakdown: Age, Latinx, Black, Income, Some College, College Grad, Disability, Female, Core City

Actual Experiences

ACTUAL EXPERIENCES
RACIAL EQUITY

DEFINITION
How do residents rate racial equity as it pertains to work and healthcare?

TOPICS: Treatment at work; experiences seeking healthcare; unfair treatment; fear for personal safety

Chart breakdown: Core City: 69 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 74 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

ACTUAL EXPERIENCES
ECONOMIC SITUATION

DEFINITION
How do residents rate their current financial situation?

TOPICS: Personal economic and financial situation; money in savings

Chart breakdown: Core City: 55 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 64 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

ACTUAL EXPERIENCES
FOOD SECURITY

DEFINITION
How do residents rate their level of food security?

TOPICS: Worries about having enough food; financial ability to buy food

Chart breakdown: Core City: 79 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 86 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY
HEALTHCARE ACCESS/CONCERNS

DEFINITION
How do residents rate their ability to access healthcare?

TOPICS: Access to routine medical care; access to mental health or substance abuse treatment; ability to manage health issues

Chart breakdown: Core City: 69 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55) Non-Core: 73 (broken down by Latinx, Black, and White ages less than and over 55)

Percentage of respondents who said somewhat or very likely to the following:
For each of the following aspects of life, please tell me how likely each is for a typical person living in your community: very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, very unlikely.

Chart breakdown: Core City: 81, Non-Core: 89 Chart breakdown: Core City: 76, Non-Core: 83