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Application of the Human Well-Being Index to Sensitive Population Divisions: a Children’s Well-Being Index Development

Author

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  • Kyle D. Buck

    (United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division)

  • J. Kevin Summers

    (United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division)

  • Lisa M. Smith

    (United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division)

  • Linda C. Harwell

    (United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division)

Abstract

The assessment of community well-being is critical as an end-point measure that will facilitate decision support and assist in the identification of sustainable solutions to address persistent problems. While the overall measure is important, it is equally vital to distinguish variations among groups within the population who may be impacted in a different manner. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) developed the Human Well-Being Index (HWBI), as a way of measuring these outcomes and assessing community characteristics. The HWBI approach produces a suite of indicators, domains and a final composite index appropriate for characterizing well-being of a population. While generalized approaches are needed, it is important to also recognize variations in well-being across community enclaves. This paper presents an adaption of the HWBI for child populations to test the applicability of the index framework to specific community enclaves. First, an extensive literature review was completed to ensure the theoretical integrity of metric and indicator substitutions from the original HWBI framework. Metric data were then collected, refined, imputed where necessary and evaluated to confirm temporal and spatial availability. A Children’s Well-Being Index (CWBI) value, representing the same indicators and domains of well-being as the original HWBI, was calculated for the population under age 18 across all US counties for 2011. Implications of this research point to an effective, holistic end-point measure that can be tracked over time. Similarly, there is great potential for the application of the original HWBI method to other statistical population segments within the greater US population. These adaptations could help identify and close gaps in equity of resource distribution among these groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Kyle D. Buck & J. Kevin Summers & Lisa M. Smith & Linda C. Harwell, 2018. "Application of the Human Well-Being Index to Sensitive Population Divisions: a Children’s Well-Being Index Development," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(4), pages 1249-1280, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:chinre:v:11:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s12187-017-9469-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s12187-017-9469-4
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    1. Raquel Lourenço Carvalhal Monteiro & Valdecy Pereira & Helder Gomes Costa, 2020. "Dependence Analysis Between Childhood Social Indicators and Human Development Index Through Canonical Correlation Analysis," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 13(1), pages 337-362, February.
    2. Frances M. Nilsen & Jazmin D.C. Ruiz & Nicolle S. Tulve, 2020. "A Meta-Analysis of Stressors from the Total Environment Associated with Children’s General Cognitive Ability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-35, July.
    3. Nathaniel W. Anderson & Anna J. Markowitz & Daniel Eisenberg & Neal Halfon & Kristin Anderson Moore & Frederick J. Zimmerman, 2022. "The Child and Adolescent Thriving Index 1.0: Developing a Measure of the Outcome Indicators of Well-Being for Population Health Assessment," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(6), pages 2015-2042, December.
    4. Susan Harrell Yee, 2020. "Contributions of Ecosystem Services to Human Well-Being in Puerto Rico," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-38, November.

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