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The life expectancy for a person in Indiana is 77 years, but across the state that number is influenced by where you live.
In Carmel, Indiana life expectancy is 83 years, in Gary it’s 72. The City Health Dashboard is the first of its kind look at health measures that influence life expectancy, neighborhood by neighborhood.
The online data is presented in 35 different categories including healthy behaviors and clinical care. The information also explores social and environmental factors that influence health.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Program Officer Oktawia Wojcik says in Indiana, social health factors are often influenced by economics.
"If that person doesn’t have a living wage that can have an impact on the type of housing a person lives in, there could be mold or rodents or maybe crime in the neighborhood which has an impact on life expectancy," says Wojcik.
Eleven Indiana cities are analyzed. The cities included are Bloomington, Carmel, Evansville, Fishers, Fort Wayne, Gary, Hammond, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Muncie and South Bend.
The tool is meant for anyone to from parents to policy makers.
"We hope that this data is going to spur action and target intervention in these locations and also the allocation of resources," says Wojcik.
The City Health Dashboard also allows for city comparison and data breakdown by demographics.
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