Looking for local public health data? Whatcom County’s just became a lot more accessible
Local public health data just became more accessible with the release of a new, public data platform focused on health equity.
Whatcom County Health and Community Services on Tuesday announced the launch of the Whatcom Community Health Insights (WCHI) data platform.
The platform features public health data specifically about people living in Whatcom County and includes information such as education, housing security, safety, air and water quality, and youth and adult quality of life.
The goal of the new resource is to help people access the data more easily, increase understanding of health challenges and disparities in our community, support community members in health improvement efforts, and inform community action to help improve health outcomes.
The provided data is separated by subpopulation such as race and ethnicity, age, and gender whenever possible “to improve understanding of health disparities among subpopulations and help to advance equity,” according to Whatcom County Health and Community Services.
The resource also helps demonstrate how certain factors such as social and economic conditions, the physical environment, health behaviors, and health care can impact health outcomes.
The platform also features links to relevant resources and community partners working to address the issues, along with narratives to provide context about the importance of the available health data.
Whatcom Health and Community Services is calling the platform a “living resource” with plans to continually update and expand it.
In the future, the data on the platform is expected to:
▪ Separate indicators by geography.
▪ Include additional indicators on the quality of healthcare, the built environment and the justice system.
▪ Separate behavioral risk factor indicators by sexual orientation and disability.
▪ Include updated Health Youth Survey dashboards with 2023 data.
