While public health agencies are being increasingly pressed to make appropriate public health data available for a variety of constituents, the mechanisms for accomplishing this have not been heretofore readily available. However, many communities are becoming involved in the development of community-wide information systems (or portals). Fortuitously, the need for public health agencies to disseminate data complements the desire of local communities to include such data in their warehouses. And today, the technology is available for incorporating public health data into such community-wide data management systems and for doing it securely. This paper describes the development of a Web-enabled community-wide information system that incorporates public health data and integrates it with data on housing, education, criminal justice, social services, and other categories of information of interest to professionals, public officials and the general public. In addition, the system provides the functionality for manipulating, analyzing, and reporting public health data in a community context. Geographic information system (GIS) capabilities are an inherent component of the system, supporting map generation, data manipulation, and spatial analysis functions. The paper discusses the factors that drove the development of this initiative, the necessary enabling developments, the various barriers to development, and the critical success factors. Finally, a model for a community-wide information management system that can be applied in other community settings is described.
Learning Objectives: 1) Illustrate potential for incorporating public health data into comprehensive systems 2) Demonstrate functionality for manipulating public health data within a data repository 3) Present the steps required to implement a community-wide data warehouse incorporating public health data
Keywords: Health Information Systems, Internet Tools
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Medical Services Research Group
Environmental Systems Research Institute
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Primary author is a principal in Medical Services Research Group; secondary author is an employee of Environmental Systems Research Institute.