An accurate measurement of public health.
Our health is affected by many different factors, including where we live, how much money we make, how much education we’ve had, and even the language we speak. At CHW, our public health policies and programs are based on overall determinants of health and the desire to serve our communities equitably.
To that end, we have developed a remarkably thorough and accurate tool, called the
Community Need Index (CNI)
, to help us understand the public health needs of every zip code we serve. The CNI is able to identify the degree of health disparity across the U.S. based on specific barriers to healthcare access in individual communities.
This information, in turn, helps guide the development of community benefit programming, health initiatives, and the allocation of resources. By aligning our resources to meet the right needs, we hope to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, improve public health, and reduce the cost of health care.
For more information, contact us at communityneedindex@chw.edu.
