The results of a multistate research pilot project* offers 3 successful approaches for creating and disseminating medical data to communities. Sub-county data often are more difficult to obtain than county-level data and require additional considerations such as estimate stability, validating accuracy, and protecting individual confidentiality.
The Journal of Public Health Management and Practice has published a paper co-authored by Trang Q. Nguyen, MD, DrPH; Isaac H. Michaels,** MPH; Dulce Bustamante-Zamora, PhD; Brian Office of Public Health Practice, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York (Dr Nguyen, Mr. Michaels, and Ms Li); Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University at Albany, Rensselaer, New York (Dr Nguyen, Mr Michaels, and Ms Li); Office of Health Equity, California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California (Dr Bustamante-Zamora); Hospital Industry Data Institute, Missouri Hospital Association, Jefferson City, Missouri (Dr Waterman); Division of General Medical Sciences, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri (Dr Nagasako); BJC HealthCare Center for Clinical Excellence, St Louis, Missouri (Dr Nagasako); and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin (Drs Givens and Gennuso).
The teams summarized the common themes shared by all projects as well as unique technical considerations arising during the project implementation. In addition, technical challenges and implementation challenges involved in sub-county data analyses are discussed. Lessons learned and proposed recommendations for prospective analysts of sub-county data are provided on the basis of project experiences, successes, and challenges.
The teams encourage future projects to further refine techniques for addressing these critical considerations.
The Journal of Public Health Management and Practice has published a paper co-authored by Trang Q. Nguyen, MD, DrPH; Isaac H. Michaels,** MPH; Dulce Bustamante-Zamora, PhD; Brian Office of Public Health Practice, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York (Dr Nguyen, Mr. Michaels, and Ms Li); Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University at Albany, Rensselaer, New York (Dr Nguyen, Mr Michaels, and Ms Li); Office of Health Equity, California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California (Dr Bustamante-Zamora); Hospital Industry Data Institute, Missouri Hospital Association, Jefferson City, Missouri (Dr Waterman); Division of General Medical Sciences, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri (Dr Nagasako); BJC HealthCare Center for Clinical Excellence, St Louis, Missouri (Dr Nagasako); and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin (Drs Givens and Gennuso).
The teams summarized the common themes shared by all projects as well as unique technical considerations arising during the project implementation. In addition, technical challenges and implementation challenges involved in sub-county data analyses are discussed. Lessons learned and proposed recommendations for prospective analysts of sub-county data are provided on the basis of project experiences, successes, and challenges.
The teams encourage future projects to further refine techniques for addressing these critical considerations.
* The project was funded by County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Additional research support (E.N.) was provided by BJC HealthCare and NIH/NCATS Washington University-ICTS grants UL1 TR000448 and KL2TR000450.
** NYPPL earlier noted New York State health statistics and data reports posted on the Internet by Mr. Michaels at https://publicpersonnellaw.blogspot.com/2020/04/new-york-covid-19-data-tracking-report.html
An abstract of the paper and a link to the text of the Journal's paper is on the Internet at:
https://journals.lww.com/jphmp/Abstract/9000/Generating_Subcounty_Health_Data_Products__Methods.99288.aspx