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Indicator definitions

This is an overview of standardized definitions of many of the indicators we use. For example, the question about the condition of local parks is a Likert-style question with answers of strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree. When we report this indicator, however, we do it as the percentage that says either strongly or somewhat agree. The data frame cws_defs has definitions of each indicator of this type, how the question was phrased, and the definition of what responses get collapsed into the summary indicator. The data frame is part of a larger data dictionary project still in progress.

Here’s how one of these Likert questions is defined, nothing special.

cws_defs |>
    filter(indicator == "safe_biking") |>
    knitr::kable()
indicator question collapsed_responses
safe_biking There are places to bicycle in or near my neighborhood that are safe from traffic, such as on the street or on special lanes, separate paths or trails strongly agree / agree

A few questions are more complicated, and have different universes to use. For example, current smoking rate is calculated based on the percentage of people who say they’ve smoked 100 cigarettes in their life; that becomes the universe for the share of people who say they currently smoke every day or some days:

cws_defs |>
    filter(grepl("smok", indicator)) |>
    knitr::kable()
indicator question collapsed_responses
smoked_100_cigs Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your entire life yes
currently_smoke Do you currently smoke cigarettes every day, some days or not at all every day / some days

As of right now, those universes aren’t included in the dataset, but they can be if it’s at all confusing.

Here’s the whole data frame as reference:

knitr::kable(cws_defs)
indicator question collapsed_responses
financial_insecurity How well would you say you are managing financially these days? just getting by / finding it difficult / finding it very difficult
food_insecurity Have there been times in the past 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed? yes / no
housing_insecurity In the last 12 months, have you not had enough money to provide adequate shelter or housing for you or your family? yes / no
transport_insecurity In the past 12 months, did you stay home when you needed or wanted to go someplace because you had no access to reliable transportation? yes / no
car_access Do you have access to a car when you need it? very often / fairly often
locations_in_walking_dist Many stores, banks, markets or places to go are within easy walking distance of my home strongly agree / agree
safe_biking There are places to bicycle in or near my neighborhood that are safe from traffic, such as on the street or on special lanes, separate paths or trails strongly agree / agree
local_rec_facilities My neighborhood has several free or low cost recreation facilities such as parks, playgrounds, public swimming pools, etc strongly agree / agree
safe_to_walk_at_night I do not feel safe to go on walks in my neighborhood at night strongly disagree / disagree
trust_neighbors People in this neighborhood can be trusted strongly agree / agree
youth_have_positive_role_models Children and youth in my town generally have the positive role models they need around here strongly agree / agree
have_some_influence_over_local_govt How would you describe your ability to influence local-government decision making? great influence / moderate influence / a little influence
self_rated_health How would you rate your overall health? excellent / very good
satisfied_with_life How satisfied are you with your life nowadays? mostly / completely
happy How happy did you feel yesterday? mostly / completely
anxious How anxious did you feel yesterday? mostly / completely
social_support How often do you get the social and emotional support you need? always / usually
satisfied_with_area Are you satisfied with the city or area where you live? yes / no
local_govt_is_responsive How responsive local government is to the needs of residents excellent / good
police_approval The job done by the police to keep residents safe excellent / good
work_opportunities The ability of residents to obtain suitable employment excellent / good
good_place_to_raise_kids As a place to raise children excellent / good
parks_in_good_condition The condition of public parks and other public recreational facilities excellent / good
produce_available The availability of affordable, high-quality fruits and vegetables excellent / good
labor_force_cws Have you had a paid job in the last 30 days yes / no, but would like to work
unemployed_cws Have you had a paid job in the last 30 days no, but would like to work
employed_cws Have you had a paid job in the last 30 days yes
working_part_time During this time, has your job been full time or part time part time
prefer_full_time Are you working part-time by choice, or would you rather have a full-time job rather have a full time job
no_one_personal_doc Do you have one person or place you think of as your personal doctor or health care provider no
no_doctor Is that because you have more than one personal doctor, or none at all none at all
smoked_100_cigs Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your entire life yes
currently_smoke Do you currently smoke cigarettes every day, some days or not at all every day / some days