Social vulnerability refers to the potential negative effects on communities caused by external stresses on human health. Such stresses include natural or human-caused disasters, or disease outbreaks. Reducing social vulnerability can decrease both human suffering and economic loss.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), or CDC/ATSDR SVI, is a database that helps emergency response planners and public health officials identify, map, and plan support for communities that will most likely need support before, during, and after a public health emergency.
CDC/ATSDR and the HHS Office of Minority Health developed the Minority Health Social Vulnerability Index (Minority Health SVI) to enhance existing resources to support the identification of racial and ethnic minority communities at the greatest risk for disproportionate impact and adverse outcomes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Minority Health SVI is an extension of the CDC/ATSDR SVI that includes additional variables for race, ethnicity, language, medical vulnerability, and health care infrastructure.
The Minority Health SVI is grouped into six themes: Socioeconomic Status, Household Composition, Racial and Ethnic Minority Status, Housing Type and Transportation, Health Care Infrastructure, and Medical Vulnerability. Each theme has a percentile ranking represented as a value between 0 (least vulnerable) and 1 (most vulnerable). An Overall Percentile Ranking combines these themes.
The Minority Health SVI was developed by the Geospatial Research, Analysis, and Services Program in the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in collaboration with the HHS Office of Minority Health.