Ohio Opportunity Index

Overview

Neighborhood conditions contribute to a wide variety of health and economic outcomes. Individual measures of these neighborhood conditions, such as area-level income or poverty, do not alone capture the complex and nuanced set of factors that define the opportunities available to Ohioans.

Area-based indices, which combine multiple diverse factors into a single measure, have been developed to synthesize complex determinants of opportunity and health. They have been integral in research, planning, and advocacy initiatives. However, existing indices are either only available for metropolitan areas or at relatively high geographic levels (e.g., county), and therefore fail to illustrate neighborhood-level conditions across the State.

The Ohio Opportunity Index (OOI) and the Ohio Children’s Opportunity Index (OCOI) were created to fill this gap. They represent the degree of opportunity (higher values mean more opportunity) at the level of the Census tract across Ohio. Users can also dig underneath these indices to learn what types of factors are driving opportunity in a selected Census tract.

The Ohio Opportunity Indices are maintained and supported by the Ohio Opportunity Index Consortium.

Ohio Opportunity Index

The OOI synthesizes over 34 variables measuring neighborhood conditions and opportunities, known to be associated with health and well-being, across a variety of domains into a single index score that can be used to assess overall neighborhood conditions, target interventions, and adjust evaluations for neighborhood-level risk.

Methodology

Drawing from numerous state agencies and organizations, a database was built consisting of a broad array of data representing diverse aspects of opportunity. The OOI variables comprise seven key domains: transportation, education, employment, housing, health, access, and crime. Within each domain, several variables that met validity criteria were identified and were available to cover the entire state at a census tract level.

Construction of the OOI consisted of the following broad steps:

  1. Operationalize each measure from original, “raw” data
  2. Summarize the measure for each Ohio census tract as a rate, count, or level
  3. Standardize each variable, as needed, to yield consistency across measures and domains
  4. Synthesize the measures in each domain to create a “domain score”
  5. Create an overall Opportunity Index Score by using factor analysis methods to weight the contribution of each domain

Regression methods were used to validate the OOI by testing the association between the OOI domain scores and five health outcomes:

  • Pre-term birth
  • Child severe mental illness
  • Youth asthma
  • Life expectancy
  • All-cause age-adjusted mortality

Opportunity Index Dashboard

An interactive web application was created to provide real-time, user-driven analytics using the OOI. A user can examine and compare the Opportunity Index score and domain scores across census tracts, from small communities to statewide.

Access the OOI Dashboard Here
Access OOI Data (version 3)

Ohio Children’s Opportunity Index

The Ohio Children’s Opportunity Index (OCOI) synthesized over 53 variables measuring neighborhood conditions and opportunities, known to be associated with health and well-being, across a variety of domains into a single index score that can be used to assess overall neighborhood opportunity, which may support targeting of interventions and adjusting analyses for neighborhood-level risk.

Methodology

Drawing from numerous state agencies and organizations, a database was built consisting of a broad array of data representing diverse aspects of opportunity. The OCOI variables comprise eight key domains: Access, Children’s Health, Criminal Justice, Education, Environment, Family Stability, Housing, and Infant Health. Within each domain, several variables that met inclusion criteria were identified and were available to cover the entire state at a census tract level.

Construction of the OCOI consisted of the following steps:

  1. Operationalize each measure from original, “raw” data
  2. Summarize the measure for each Ohio census tract as a rate, count, or level
  3. Standardize each variable, as needed, to yield consistency across measures and domains
  4. Synthesize the measures in each domain to create a “domain score”
  5. Create an overall Children’s Opportunity Index Score as the unweighted mean of the 8 domain scores

A time varying version of the OCOI—spanning the two periods ending in 2014 and 2017—was created that incorporates 37 of the 53 variables in the same 8 domains.

The OCOI was validated by testing the association of the OCOI and the domain scores with five health outcomes:

  • Pre-term birth
  • Child severe mental illness
  • Youth asthma
  • Life expectancy
  • All-cause age-adjusted mortality

Ohio Children’s Opportunity Index Dashboard

An interactive web application was created to provide real-time, user-driven analytics using the OCOI. A user can examine and compare the Children’s Opportunity Index score and domain scores across census tracts, from small communities to statewide.

Access the OCOI Dashboard Here
Access OCOI Data (version 2)

Additional Resources

Opportunity Index Dashboards and Tutorials

Current Data Files

Historical Data Files

Project Principal Investigators