David J. Carroll

David Carroll is Vice President at Words & Numbers Research, Inc., a research consulting firm founded in 1984. He specializes in the analysis of demographic and social trends particularly as they relate to population change, women and children, and health. His expertise lies in the development of measurements that identify, describe and quantify social changes in communities, educational and health districts, and service delivery systems.

David has conducted numerous studies and evaluations that focus on the well-being of children, the economic security of women, the educational achievement gap and health equity among diverse populations.

He conceptualized, designed and empirically tested the Health Equity Index© for the Connecticut Association of Directors of Health. The HEI is a composite statistic that is used to measure and quantify the extent to which Social Determinants have a statistically significant relationship with health outcomes in a given geographic area. The Kellogg Foundation provided a 3 million dollar grant to CADH to continue this work.

Another example is Keeping Children on the Path to School Success: How is Connecticut Doing? Research consultation was provided for the development of 25 critical indicators measuring the state's progress in ensuring the school readiness of children. The work included data collection and management, analysis and reporting. Indicators were developed in: Health and Child Development; Safety and Child Welfare; Economic Stability; Early Care and Education; and Ready Schools.