Coming from diverse backgrounds in health policy and management, biostatistics, and epidemiology, our team saw the 2024 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)/AcademyHealth Data Visualization Challenge as an exciting opportunity to collaborate on a project that we would typically not have the opportunity to do otherwise. While we are all part of the Health Systems and Policy Ph.D. program at the OHSU – PSU School of Public Health, our individual research areas have minimal overlap. Our team took this opportunity to explore our shared knowledge of social determinants of health (SDOH) and apply our various backgrounds and skillsets to collective use.
Having spent over a decade working with community-based organizations, Mina (health policy) brought our research team the idea of focusing on county level health information using the publicly available dataset, County Health Rankings (CHR). Our team began to map out the overlap between NCHS datasets and CHR to determine how we could best use these datasets for the challenge. We narrowed down our choices to any elements dealing with food access and health outcomes. Based on our knowledge of the impacts of food insecurity on diseases such as diabetes and obesity, we began to develop our visualization to assess this relationship across the U.S.
Emily, a biostatistician with extensive experience working with large secondary datasets, extracted, aggregated, and merged our various datasets together and incorporated appropriate weighting using Stata. Our team leveraged three national data sources to complete this project, creating a final dataset that included variables at the regional, state, county, and urban/rural level. However, those three data sources were a combination of five underlying datasets. A detailed summary of the data is included at the bottom of our visualization. Although our analysis of the data was purely descriptive, we leveraged some of Tableau’s trend line capabilities to observe the various relationships between food insecurity and healthcare outcomes.
Finally, Chelsea, epidemiologist, brought our visualization to life using Tableau Public. Leveraging Tableau’s mapping capabilities and ability to put graphs in captions (tooltip) allowed us to create an interactive visualization. End users can view the data at a national level as well as county level within each state by selecting the various states throughout the visualization. Data visualization is a growing skillset within the public health field. Our team recommends any student to check out the free access and training provided by the various visualization platforms. Ultimately, our visualization helped highlight the relationship between increased food insecurity and rates of diabetes and obesity throughout the U.S.
Reflecting on Attending ARM 2024
Beyond the technical aspects, this experience was incredibly rewarding. Our team enjoyed our process of creating the visualization, working with classmates that we traditionally don’t work with, and attending the 2024 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting to share our work. The highlight of the conference was meeting the previous and current winners of the data visualization challenge. Getting to share our experiences as fellow graduate students with individuals from across the country (New Hampshire and Oregon) was an opportunity we will continue to cherish.
Highlighting ARM 2025
Attending the 2025 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, will be an unparalleled opportunity for students eager to immerse themselves in the dynamic field of health services research.
ARM offers presentations, discussions, and networking events designed to inspire and inform. Join us for the "Welcome Session for First-Time ARM Attendees" on Sunday, June 8th, from 8 am - 8:45 am in MINCC, 101IJ, where you can learn some helpful tips and connect with others who are new to ARM. Start your ARM journey with insights, networking, and some friendly faces.
Another event to look forward to is the "Student Meet the Experts Breakfast" on Monday, June 9th, from 7:30 am - 8:30 am. This is your opportunity to connect directly with experienced leaders in the field of health services research. Ask questions, hear about real career paths, and gain insider insights from professionals who’ve been where you are. Whether you're looking to build your network, explore career options, or simply get inspired, this is a must-attend event.