Improving NCHS Data Dissemination Ellen Bloom UMD School
Improving NCHS Data Dissemination Ellen Bloom UMD School of Public Policy Project Course 2017
Mission Statement “As the Nation’s principal health statistics agency, NCHS leads the way with accurate, relevant, and timely data. ”
Reality “NCHS scores are lower than average for ability to navigate the site and search for or locate the documents or data… In terms of the metrics platform, it used to be that we could expect a healthy 5 -10% increase each year in number of page views/visits. In the last couple years, however, that has declined or stayed the same from year to year. ” -Anthony Lipphardt, Health Communications Specialist, NCHS
Project Purpose • To improve user experience & generate more traffic to all NCHS data portals • To ensure health data is being efficiently & effectively distributed to as many people as possible • To increase the utility of NCHS data • To keep the public informed
Step One: Site. Catalyst Findings
Top Health Concerns of the Public ü Immunizations/Vaccines ü STD’s ü Zika Virus ü Mortality Rates ü Birth Defects & Developmental Disabilities ü Medical discoveries & research ü Staying healthy while traveling
Step Two: 2016 Survey Findings
Before today, about how many times have you visited the NCHS web site in the last year? Never 1, 7% 16, 4% 1 -5 times 22, 9% 6 -11 times (less than once a month) 13, 0% 13, 6% 32, 3% 12 -23 times 24 times or more (twice a month or more) Don't recall
Please indicate your opinion about the NCHS web site and the information you obtain from it. Information is timely 20% Information is accurate 17% Information is relevant 17% Information is easy to find 25% Information is easy to interpret 21%
In the past year, have you accessed Health, United States, the annual report on the health status of the Nation? Have you obtained birth or death statistics (National Vital Statistics System) from NCHS publications or other parts of the website in the last year? Yes No No I am not familiar with the Health, United States report Don't know/not applicable
From which of the following health care surveys have you obtained statistics from in the past year? National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) 15% National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) 8% National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) 7% National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS) 9% 2% 3% 51% National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS) National Survey of Ambulatory Surgery (NSAS) 2% National Survey of Residential Care Facilities (NSRCF) 1% 2% National Study of Long-Term Care Providers (NSLTCP) None of the above Don't know/not applicable
Have you used any of the following on-line query-based systems to access data in the past year? (Check all that apply) 80, 0% 70, 0% 60, 0% 50, 0% 40, 0% 30, 0% 20, 0% 10, 0% Health Indicators Warehouse Health Data Interactive Vital. Stats NCHS Data Online Query System (DOQS)
User Preference & Demographic ü Excel is the most preferred analytical software ü Most common user is a student ü Most users use NCHS information for academic research and/or school projects ü Over half of all NCHS users are coming from an academic/research institution
Step Three: Dashboard Comparison Tables NCHS, CMS, FDA
Dashboard Comparison Table Summary Agency NCHS CMS FDA Home Page Navigation 4 Useful 5 Very useful Other webpage navigation 2 Somewhat useful 5 Very useful 4 Useful Submenu 5 Very useful Content Labels 4 Useful 5 Very useful Tabs or labels for different users 4 Useful 5 Very useful Search engine 4 Useful 5 Very useful Data Navigator Tool 3 Not present 5 Very useful 3 Not present
Step Four: Interview Data from CMS & FDA Office of Communication Heads
CMS Interview Data ü Work with users to identify their needs ü Select open data/data dissemination tools that match these requirements ü Standardize toolsets to the extent possible ü Focus on publishing datasets of value to your users ü Explore visualizations to make the data more accessible - Jon Booth, Director Web & New Media Group Office of Communications, CMS
FDA Interview Data ü Understand the needs of your visitors/users ü Leverage available metric systems to gain this understanding ü Make iterative changes constantly based on data so that you are always improving & becoming more customercentric ü The priorities of your organization are important, but knowing what your customers want/need is more important -Chris Mulieri, Director Web and Digital Media Office of Web Communications, FDA
Step Five: Proposed Public Survey
User experience-centered questions 1. How do users feel about NCHS dashboard layout? 2. Were navigation options self-explanatory? 3. What would you say the NCHS website needs (if anything) in order to make navigation easier? 4. If you were not able to find the information you were looking for, what was the reason? 5. If you were able to find the information you were looking for, was the data comprehensible? 6. If you were able to find the information you were looking for, was the data useful?
Proposals 1. Boost content centered around user preference Ø STD’s, Zika virus, Immunizations/Vaccines, Excel-friendly downloads, re-launch Vital. Stats System, etc. 2. Push for more advertisements of health data publications and reports Ø Health, United States report, publications within the National Vital Statistics System, etc. 3. Simplify homepage and all internal dashboards and channels Ø Refine search engine results, create Data Navigator Tool, standardize toolsets 4. Focus on publishing datasets of value to users
Remember The People Behind the Clicks
Thank you. Any Questions?
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