Hosting a Local Workshop around New Data for Better Neighborhood Health in Milwaukee

In March 2017, the Milwaukee-based organization Data You Can Use held a convening focused on utilizing local health data with two dozen community organizers, residents, city health department staff, local United Way representatives, and health care practitioners. Katie Pritchard, from Data You Can Use, explained that the two-hour interactive session highlighted 500 Cities Data as an example of an interactive health data tool that can produce maps for the local level. Facilitators provided hard copies of the 500 Cities variables list and an overview of the scope and limitations of the data. Using the interactive mapping component of 500 Cities, the training showed maps with rates of binge drinking, no leisure-time physical activity, and physical activity for Milwaukee tracts. Because the workshop was held in a university computer lab, participants could access the dataset and explore the neighborhood variation in different indicators during the event. As potential next steps, the event organizers want to engage neighborhood residents in interpreting the maps of a few of the 500 cities indicators and discuss potential responses. They also want to examine the data alongside other neighborhood indicators from local and national sources.