As we go through and examine our existing investments and programs, it is important to have a clear, data-driven understanding of where health disparities are most profound. Knowing this will enable us to focus our efforts.
In our country, a person’s zip code is more predictive of one's life expectancy than one’s own genetic code. As a result, around the country, credible, serious efforts to address health disparities have all prioritized developing a granular, “place-based” understanding of where disparities in the community are most profound.
In line with this framework, we have identified ten priority geographies for focused improvements and investments. The ten geographies encompass the communities in Massachusetts experiencing the largest health disparities across a broad range of measures.
This concentration will allow us to centralize our efforts in the communities that need it most – and provide us with lessons that can be applied statewide later on.
