Colorado Oral Health Priority Community Index

Session Description: To identify communities experiencing inequitable outcomes due to increased burdens of disease and greater barriers to accessing oral health care, Colorado developed an Oral Health Priority Community Index based on the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps model by the University of Wisconsin and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Index utilizes social determinants of health indicators, oral health-specific indicators, and risk factors impacting oral health outcomes to identify and prioritize counties in Colorado with high oral health needs to inform resource allocation throughout the state.

This session will discuss the rationale for creating and tailoring the County Health Rankings methodology and how Colorado uses the Index to better identify and support communities in need. Other discussion topics will include a review of the health indicators and data sources selected, an overview of the methodology, and the county ranking and prioritization process.