Identifying Equity Opportunity Zones

A large southern U.S. county sought to assess how well its public health and healthcare system was meeting community needs and identify strategic opportunities to advance health equity. 

We implemented healthcare ecosystem analysis, including:

• Reviewed and synthesized 50 health assessments and reports

• Identified and analyzed equity indicators across several national and local datasets

• Interviewed local healthcare providers, mental health clinicians, substance use professionals, and public health partners

• Triangulated all data sources to identify priority geographic areas with high unmet needs

• Developed GPS maps

• Facilitated sense-making sessions with the leadership team

• Developed final report with recommendations

We identified 10 high-priority zip codes where residents face significant unmet needs across multiple health and social factors. These findings are guiding the county's efforts to focus resources and programs in areas most impacted by structural inequities, enabling more targeted and equitable service delivery.