Blue Shield of California's the80 mapping tool is featured in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association's Health of America report. The News Center featured the80 back in March. You can read more about how it works, here.
Kia Wilson lives in Los Angeles County. “I know a lot that goes on,” she says. “I know the diverse communities.” She also knows many of the resources that can help them. But her voice alone might not be loud enough to bring about the bigger changes a community needs to thrive.
Typing in a ZIP code, selecting a topic like housing or food, Wilson can pull a report on the80's website and show neighborhood residents facts about their community and how it compares to the rest of the city. For example, running a report on housing statistics in one of LA’s lowest income ZIP codes reveals a big percentage of residents live in overcrowded housing, housing that’s likelier to have lead paint, and that although residents have comparable rates of diabetes and heart disease, more of them die from it.
The tool helps Wilson ask questions about the link between neighborhood data and a patient’s health: for example, how might overcrowding affect asthma, or even safety from COVID-19?
She can also show the data to residents who want to improve their community. “I can help members organize,” she says. “They may want a farmers’ market or community kitchen.”
Read the full story on the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association's Health of America site, here.