City Health Dashboard takes data-driven approach to improving health
A new data visualization tool launched this week aims to provide community leaders in the nation’s 500 largest cities — including Iowa’s six biggest population centers — with a new resource to identify and address their cities’ most pressing health needs.
The City Health Dashboard enables users to view their city’s performance in 36 key measures of health such as obesity and primary physician coverage, as well as social determinants of health status like housing affordability, graduation rates and access to healthy foods. The tool also allows users to compare data down to the census tract level to pinpoint areas of the city that have particular health challenges and identify ways to address those needs.
The dashboard was piloted last year in four U.S. cities — Flint, Mich., Kansas City, Kan., Providence, R.I., and Waco, Texas — and has now been expanded to 500 cities through a $3.4 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It was created by the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Medical Center and the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at NYU, in partnership with the National Resource Network.
The project is a response to city leaders’ lack of current, city-level health data that they can use to put health at the top of their agendas, said Dr. Marc Gourevitch, chair of the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone, and the program’s principal architect. His team provided an overview of the site for public health leaders and media that I listened in on Tuesday.
“Our goal is to leverage the power of data to improve the health and well-being of everyone in the community,” he said. “It’s a powerful tool for change.”
Six Iowa cities — Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Des Moines, Iowa City, Sioux City and Waterloo — are among the 500 cities included in the database, which covers approximately one-third of the U.S. population. To see an executive summary of the dashboard and the 36 measures tracked, click here.
The City Health Dashboard provides a resource that dovetails with a number of health and wellness-related initiatives in Iowa, among them the Healthiest State Initiative and efforts by United Way of Central Iowa and Polk County to address inequitable social determinants of health in the community.
“While we are just learning about this new tool, we always appreciate having additional data focused on the diverse needs of our community,” Renée Miller, United Way’s chief community impact officer, said in an email. “Overall, we focus on a broader geography of Polk, Dallas and Warren counties, and the data we track and use most in our health priority work focuses on the five factors of well-being tracked by the Gallup Sharecare Well-Being Index.”
Jami Haberl, executive director of the Healthiest State Initiative, had a similar reaction.
“While this is another tool available for Iowans, the current focus is on urban cities,” she said in an email.
“Healthiest State strives to measure the impact it is having on all Iowans — urban and rural,” she said. “This is why the Healthiest State provides different programs for Iowans to engage and take action. From starting with the annual healthiest state walk to actively engaging in opportunities to live 5-2-1-0 Healthy Choices Count to community transformation with the support of Healthy Hometown powered by Wellmark, HSI is providing opportunities for Iowans throughout the state to engage.”
The City Health Dashboard enables users to view their city’s performance in 36 key measures of health such as obesity and primary physician coverage, as well as social determinants of health status like housing affordability, graduation rates and access to healthy foods. The tool also allows users to compare data down to the census tract level to pinpoint areas of the city that have particular health challenges and identify ways to address those needs.
The dashboard was piloted last year in four U.S. cities — Flint, Mich., Kansas City, Kan., Providence, R.I., and Waco, Texas — and has now been expanded to 500 cities through a $3.4 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It was created by the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Medical Center and the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at NYU, in partnership with the National Resource Network.
The project is a response to city leaders’ lack of current, city-level health data that they can use to put health at the top of their agendas, said Dr. Marc Gourevitch, chair of the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone, and the program’s principal architect. His team provided an overview of the site for public health leaders and media that I listened in on Tuesday.
“Our goal is to leverage the power of data to improve the health and well-being of everyone in the community,” he said. “It’s a powerful tool for change.”
Six Iowa cities — Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Des Moines, Iowa City, Sioux City and Waterloo — are among the 500 cities included in the database, which covers approximately one-third of the U.S. population. To see an executive summary of the dashboard and the 36 measures tracked, click here.
The City Health Dashboard provides a resource that dovetails with a number of health and wellness-related initiatives in Iowa, among them the Healthiest State Initiative and efforts by United Way of Central Iowa and Polk County to address inequitable social determinants of health in the community.
“While we are just learning about this new tool, we always appreciate having additional data focused on the diverse needs of our community,” Renée Miller, United Way’s chief community impact officer, said in an email. “Overall, we focus on a broader geography of Polk, Dallas and Warren counties, and the data we track and use most in our health priority work focuses on the five factors of well-being tracked by the Gallup Sharecare Well-Being Index.”
Jami Haberl, executive director of the Healthiest State Initiative, had a similar reaction.
“While this is another tool available for Iowans, the current focus is on urban cities,” she said in an email.
“Healthiest State strives to measure the impact it is having on all Iowans — urban and rural,” she said. “This is why the Healthiest State provides different programs for Iowans to engage and take action. From starting with the annual healthiest state walk to actively engaging in opportunities to live 5-2-1-0 Healthy Choices Count to community transformation with the support of Healthy Hometown powered by Wellmark, HSI is providing opportunities for Iowans throughout the state to engage.”
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