New Open Source Digital Data Platform Reveals the State of Public Health in America’s Largest Cities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 29, 2016               

Big Cities Health Coalition Launches Health Data Platform 2.0 

Washington, D.C. – The Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) launched an upgraded Big Cities Health Inventory (BCHI) Data Platform today, which allows comparisons of key public health indicators across 28 large, urban cities. In all, the tool features over 17,000 data points – including more than 50 health and socio-demographic indicators. The data set (which is available at bigcitieshealth.org/city-data) is the first of its kind to provide these data in a comparable manner at the city level.

“This platform is a unique resource for the public health community, and now it’s even easier for users to find out how city populations are faring on some of the biggest public health challenges of our time, including opioid addiction, lead poisoning, and gun violence,” said Chrissie Juliano, MPP, Director of the Coalition. “These cities are true innovators, well versed in improving America’s health and addressing health disparities by advancing policies that prevent disease and keep Americans healthy. This data tool provides insight into the state of urban public health in a new way.”

“We know that reaching our goals for creating a healthier America requires collecting data on the state of population health, and making it accessible to everyone,” said John M. Auerbach, Associate Director for Policy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This project takes a big step forward for the field of public health by giving us essential information about health in our nation’s largest cities. We at CDC are proud to support this effort.”

The platform allows users to examine a number of pressing health issues impacting urban communities across the country. Originally launched in 2015, the Coalition upgraded the platform with additional indicators and new years of data. It features data that was primarily collected from its member cities, the 28 largest, most urban public health departments in the country, with additional data pulled from various U.S. Census surveys. To read the full methodology, visit https://bigcitieshealthdata.org/faqs/.  Learn more about the state of public health in America’s largest cities on the data platform.

The platform includes data from Atlanta (Fulton County), Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Worth (Tarrant County), Houston, Kansas City (MO), Las Vegas (Clark County), Long Beach, Los Angeles, Miami (Miami-Dade County), Minneapolis, New York City, Oakland, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland (Multnomah County), Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego County, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

Improvements to the platform design include updated functionality and expanded data. It allows users to sort data by health condition, by demographic group or by city. Additional upgrades include:

• Improved design and navigation that interfaces well with social media. Enjoy navigating a sleeker overall design that makes it easier to explore data and create dynamic visuals.
• Data is easier to read and compare. Data can now be visually sorted and manipulated online, without having to download the entire dataset. Users can look across health indicators in a jurisdiction or across jurisdictions in a select indicator to get a better picture of the landscape.
• Easily share custom data visualizations. Now it’s simple to share or download data insights and graphics in a variety of sizes. Whether you want an image to post on social media, or a printed presentation, visualizations display cleanly and quickly.

Funding for this project comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through Cooperative Agreement 5U38OT000172-03.

CONTACT: Max Mays mays@bigcitieshealth.org or 913-233-6830 

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About the Big Cities Health Coalition

The Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) is a forum for the leaders of America’s largest metropolitan health departments to exchange strategies and jointly address issues to promote and protect the health and safety of their residents. Collectively, BCHC member jurisdictions directly impact nearly 62 million people, or one in five Americans. For more information, visit https://www.bigcitieshealth.org.