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Delaware launches healthy community data portal

May 21, 2019

The Division of Public Health recently launched a data portal allowing Delawareans to assess the overall health of their communities.

The My Healthy Community data portal delivers neighborhood-focused population health, and environmental and social determinants of health data to the public. The innovative technological showpiece allows users to navigate the data at the smallest geographical area available, to understand and explore data about the factors that influence health.

“This is another example of how we are making data more transparent, accessible, and easy to understand,” said Gov. John Carney. “Sharing community-level statistics and data allows Delawareans to understand what is occurring in their neighborhoods, make informed decisions about their health, and take steps to continue improving our quality of life.”

Delaware residents are able to explore a variety of data indicators in the following categories: community characteristics, the environment, chronic disease, and mental health and substance use. Air quality data, asthma incidence data, public and private drinking water results, and drug overdose and death data are currently available. Over the next several months, additional categories and data indicators are expected to be added including community safety, maternal and child health, healthy lifestyles, health services utilization, infectious diseases, education, socioeconomic influencers, lead poisoning, suicide and homicide, and populations vulnerable to climate change.

“Our health and the environment in which we live are inherently connected,” said Dr. Kara Odom Walker, DHSS secretary. “The portal will allow communities, governments and stakeholders to better understand the issues that impact our health, determine priorities and track progress. Communities can use the data to initiate community-based approaches, support and facilitate discussions that describe and define population health priorities, and educate residents about their community’s health and the environment in which they live.”

Residents can search health indicators by street address, ZIP code, census tract, neighborhood, town/city, county and state. They can also compare their community’s health measures with other Delaware communities, their county, and the state as a whole, and view data trends over time. To ensure compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, not all data can be made available at the community level; therefore, the system is designed to provide data for the smallest geographic area possible.

"Access to data is a key factor in making progress toward a stronger and healthier Delaware. The ability to easily access such crucial information like substance use and overdose data by ZIP code enables Delawareans to compare it to larger areas and examine trends," said Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long. Drug overdose deaths, non-fatal drug overdoses, and youth use of prescription pain medicines are available through My Healthy Community. Also for the first time, emergency department non-fatal drug overdose data from DPH, and prescription monitoring program data will be available thanks to a partnership with the Division of Professional Regulation.

“Addiction, air quality, chronic disease and drinking water quality impact every one of us,” said Dr. Karyl Rattay, DPH director. “When communities become aware of the level at which these issues are occurring in their neighborhoods, it can spur action that can improve the quality of life for current and future generations.”

My Healthy Community has been years in the making through a partnership among several DPH programs, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the Division of Substance Use and Mental Health, and the Delaware Health Care Commission. To access the portal, go to https://MyHealthyCommunity.dhss.delaware.gov

 

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