Development of Whatcom Community Health Insights
The Whatcom Community Health Insights (WCHI) site was developed by the Whatcom County Health and Community Services (WCHCS) Data Team through several iterative phases:
Design Research: Public health data websites from various health departments and community organizations were reviewed to gather insights and ideas about the overall design – what features were included, how they were organized, and their usability from the user’s perspective.
Early decisions were made to:
- Organize the site around the WCHCS Population Health Framework
- Start with quantitative data
- Use secondary data, such as Census, OSPI
- Use the Results-Based Accountability (RBA) Framework to assess indicators’ strength or “power”
- Select population-level indicators (vs. performance/program level)
- Design the site for people who use data to make informed decisions
- Provide analysis and interpretation of the data
- Include relevant resources for those seeking more information
- Engage community partners in the development process
Initial Indicator Selection: An initial list of over 450 potential indicators was compiled based on a comprehensive review of Community Health Assessments (CHA) across Washington, including Whatcom’s 2018 CHA and the WA State Department of Health indicators; national sources such as Healthy People 2030, County Health Rankings, and Seven Vital Conditions for Health and Wellbeing were also reviewed.
Indicator “Cross Walk”: The potential indicators were cross-walked to determine which are the most commonly used across all the assessments and sources. These indicators were then cross-referenced with the Population Health Framework to identify where they fit. In some cases, an indicator could be related to more than one of the determinants of health (health topic) within the framework.
“Data Power” Evaluation: The Data Team evaluated indicators for their “data power,” part of the RBA framework. Data power refers to having consistent and reliable data collection and analysis methods, the ability to stratify by subpopulations (race/ethnicity, age, geography, etc.), timeliness (how recent the data is), availability over time (to enable showing trends), and other considerations.
Community Engagement: Over a dozen data workgroups were convened to contribute to the WCHI site. Workgroups reviewed potential indicators and evaluated their “communication power,” suggested additional indicators, and provided feedback on the dashboards and narrative. “Communication power,” also from RBA, refers to how meaningful or “resonant” indicators are, their ability to communicate to a broad range of audiences, and their utility in planning and decision-making. Workgroup members were also invited to do a final review of the site after their feedback was incorporated. Organizations that participated in workgroups are listed on the Partner Contributions page.
Please note that some of the partner feedback was included in the WCHI site before its launch. However, other suggestions and requests will require more time for research and implementation. Additionally, although these phases are listed in sequence, the process was actually more iterative. For instance, feedback from workgroups prompted the evaluation of new indicators or the revision of design elements.
The WCHI site is an ongoing effort. In addition to updating data as they become available, the WCHCS Data team will add indicators, further develop the dashboards, narratives, and linked resources, and make other revisions to expand and improve the site.
For Phase II of the WCHI, the Data Team will aim to:
- Disaggregate indicators by geography when data allows
- Add indicators on the quality of health care, the built environment and the justice system
- Include disaggregation by sexual orientation and disability for BRFSS indicators
- Update HYS dashboards with the 2023 data
Your suggestions and comments are always welcome! Please contact us here.