It is clear that place is a strong determinant of health.1 However, it is not clear how to measure the impact of place on health nor the specific community characteristics that contribute to poor health outcomes. Recent advances in geographic information systems (GIS), including the creation of service area maps, are working toward a...
The 2022 American Public Health Association National Public Health Week is April 4-10. This year’s theme, “Public health is where you are,” is apt for the team here at HealthLandscape. Most of us never considered public health when we went to college or made career plans. Some of us are sociologists. Some are geographers....
In 1796, the first vaccine was administered to protect the populace against smallpox. Since then, researchers and scientists have developed and tested a multitude of vaccines against diseases such as cholera, yellow fever, tuberculosis, polio, measles, Lyme disease, and hepatitis A. These preventive measures are a way of cutting down the risk of contracting fatal...
One thing the team at HealthLandscape believes in pretty consistently is the power of data visualization. We do it daily by building mapping and graphing tools, we teach it, we research it. We live it, we breathe it. That’s why it’s always great to go out to conferences and interact with our fellow data-philes (as...
The ACS Data Users Group is a partnership between the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the Population Reference Bureau, to promote the effective use and dissemination of ACS data, as well as educate users on data issues and best practices. The annual ACS Data Users Conference, held May 14 and 15 this year, was...
It’s Homecoming Season! This past weekend was my daughter’s homecoming dance at her high school. I took this picture before the dance, with the sun going down and students just beginning to arrive. They couldn’t ask for a better start to the evening. I have to admit that I’ve never taken part in my own...
During the week of August 3rd, 2017, HealthLandscape updated Community HealthView with nineteen datasets from the Appalachian Regional Commission, AIDSVu, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Administrative Claims Data. The data from the Appalachian Regional Commission included economic data for only those counties in the Appalachia region. The data from AIDSVu on AIDS prevalence...
During the week of July 10th to the 14th, 2017, HealthLandscape attended the annual Esri User Conference in San Diego. Part of the conference was designated to showcasing attendee’s various cartographic products in a map gallery. HealthLandscape submitted two products to this year’s Map Gallery, a small format map depicting the mosquito season in the...
Earlier this month, the Director of the Census Bureau abruptly retired after many decades of service to the Bureau. There is much speculation and concern due to the suddenness of the Director’s departure, which, combined with expected shortfalls in funding required for the coming 2020 Census, raises real concerns for the agency’s ability to meet...
The third American Community Survey (ACS) Data Users Conference took place May 11th and 12th, 2017, at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia. The meeting, organized by the Population Reference Bureau, brought the ACS data users together to discuss research, trends, resources, and analysis. Sent to 3.5 million addresses each year,...
