The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #46797

Sandra L Putnam, PhD¹, Fredia S. Wadley, MD MSHPA², and Ann P. Duncan, RN². (1) Community Health Research Group, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Suite 309, Conference Center Bldg, Knoxville, TN 37996-4133, 865-974-4511, sputnam1@utk.edu, (2) Commissioner of Health, Tennessee Department of Health, 425 5th Ave North, Nashville, TN 37247

The internet has democratized access to health data and expanded the public’s capacity to participate in community needs assessment and planning. When the Tennessee Department of Health began its innovative Community Diagnosis Initiative Project in 1995, the goal was to support and enable 14 regional health councils representing all 95 counties to assess and prioritize community needs and plan for effective prevention/intervention. One of the first issues was the need for ready access to summary statistics and data tables at the county level. The internet was the chosen medium through CHRG’s Health Information Tennessee (server.to/hit). In addition to providing the usual assortment of previously calculated health and population statistics, a lesser used internet feature, Common Gateway Interface (CGI), is employed to allow the user the opportunity to query various Tennessee health data bases in such a way that personalized charts and tables can be produced upon demand. The requested information is calculated at the moment the query is submitted by a statistical software program residing on a server at The University of Tennessee. Health data can be uniquely charted, trended, listed and mapped to foster problem identification. Information can be presented in an infinitely flexible manner; statewide and substate comparisons can be made; and access can be widespread and multifocal. A case study of a county community diagnosis will be presented to demonstrate this technology and allow observation of the features and functions of the website, display tailored data comparisons, and show its applicability to community needs assessment and planning.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand the use of an interactive custom query website for community health needs assessment and planning
• To describe the community diagnosis process of county level health problem identification using on-line health data charting, trending, listing and mapping
• To set the stage for detailed demonstrations of the custom querying of data bases, interactive mapping and GIS features of the website planned for the session

Keywords: Internet Tools, Community Health Assessment

Related Web page: hitspot.utk.edu

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.