In support of Episcopal Health Foundation’s (EHF) mission to improve health outcomes in the 80 counties of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas (EDOT), EHF’s research team has released an updated and improved County Health Snapshots data mapping tool. EHF’s County Health Snapshots (CHS) tool provides a peek into the important demographic factors and health outcomes within the EDOT. Not only does the CHS tool share descriptive information, but it can also be used to support and inform preliminary analysis of any county or region within the EDOT. By layering information such as age, income, and poverty, researchers can begin to articulate community health and potential needs within the county.
Using the County Health Snapshot Tool
The interactive tool has four tabs: Demographics, Age, Income, & Chronic Conditions. As you select each tab, the EDOT map will reflect the chosen tab color.
Each tab has a summary bar that shows county-level population, median household income, average percent of people in poverty, and average percent of population that is considered rural.
Use the map legend to understand the associated colors on the charts (note: the arrow on the right to advance on the legend). Hover over the map and charts to access more information.
Lastly, to reset your current view, click the “reset view” button at the bottom of the dashboard.
Lastly, to reset your current view, click the “reset view” button at the bottom of the dashboard.
Sample Analysis
For this sample analysis, we sought to learn more about Harris County and the surrounding areas. As we continue to learn about and engage with the communities that we serve, understanding this surrounding region is important.
1: County Demographics and Characteristics
Starting with Harris County, we can observe that they hold a super majority of the total population in the region of focus. By selecting each county, we can see that Harris has about 4.8 million. Additionally, using the CHS tool, you can quickly observe with a few clicks that the surrounding counties have considerably smaller populations than Harris.
2: Income and Poverty
Turning our focus to Fort Bend, we want to using the CHS tool to better understand the distribution of incomes and poverty. By selecting Fort Bend County on the Income tab, we see that in 2022, the Fort Bend MHI is $109,987, with 7% of the county’s population in poverty. We are also able to observe that the Native Hawaiian population accounts for the highest MHI than any other demographic group at $250,000.
Additionally, White and Asian residents have MHIs of $120,000 and $133,000, respectively, which further increase the county’s MHI. To gain more context about the wealth distribution in Fort Bend, we can click over to the demographics tab and learn that Native Hawaiians only account for 1% of the county’s total population while White and Asian residents are just about 20% each.
3: Rurality and Chronic Conditions
San Jacinto County, the county with both the smallest population and the highest percentage of rural population (100%) in the region of focus, has the highest rate of HBP at 42%.
Using the CHS, we can clearly see that these chronic diseases are areas of concern and may potentially be even more concerning in rural, less populous communities.
Using the tool allowed us to better understand two regions within the EDOT. Specifically, we were able to understand the relationship between income, poverty, and demographic makeup as well as the relationship between rurality and chronic conditions.
With this preliminary analysis, we can ask critical questions about the health and resources within those communities. Stay on the lookout for more county level maps to aid in your analysis!
Sources
CDC: Population Level Analysis and Community Estimates (PLACES)
Census: Decennial Census and American Community Survey (ACS)
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