Downstream

How is King County doing?

Downstream indicators measure the need to correct problems such as poor health and incarceration that have already occurred. These usually involve intervening with individuals to change behaviors or conditions that impair health and well-being. Low birth weight, mental illness, substance abuse, and incarceration are examples of conditions or behaviors that may require intervention to improve health and well-being. While the needs are immediate and require intervention, success in upstream and midstream factors would reduce these disparities occurring in the first place.

What else influences these indicators?

The social and physical environments of disadvantaged communities are major determinants of these outcomes. For example, poverty, education, housing, discrimination, and other upstream/midstream indicators are examples of factors that strongly influence health and well-being.

What role does King County government play?

Through its responsibilities with public health, criminal justice, mental health and substance abuse treatment, parks, transportation, and other service systems, King County plays an important role in providing or supporting direct services related to these downstream indicators. In many of these areas, King County is focusing its intervention efforts on communities and individuals who are experiencing the worse outcomes. Through this initiative on equity and social justice, King County and its partners will work towards ensuring that, across all of these service systems, those communities who are most in need are receiving their proportionate share of programs and services.