Improving NCHS Data Dissemination

1. Improving NCHS Data Dissemination Ellen Bloom UMD School of Public Policy Project Course 2017

2. Mission Statement “As the Nation’s principal health statistics agency, NCHS leads the way with accurate, relevant, and timely data.”

3. 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

4. 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

5. Step One: SiteCatalyst Findings

6. Top Health Concerns of the Public • Immunizations/Vaccines • STD’s • Zika Virus • Mortality Rates • Birth Defects & Developmental Disabilities • Medical discoveries & research • Staying healthy while traveling

7. Step Two: 2016 Survey Findings

13. User Preference & Demographic • Excel is the most preferred analytical software • Most common user is a student • Most users use NCHS information for academic research and/or school projects • Over half of all NCHS users are coming from an academic/research institution

14. Step Three: Dashboard Comparison Tables NCHS, CMS, FDA

15. Dashboard Comparison Table Summary

16. Step Four: Interview Data from CMS & FDA Office of Communication Heads

17. CMS Interview Data • Work with users to identify their needs • Select open data/data dissemination tools that match these requirements • Standardize toolsets to the extent possible • Focus on publishing datasets of value to your users • Explore visualizations to make the data more accessible - Jon Booth, Director Web & New Media Group Office of Communications, CMS

18. FDA Interview Data • Understand the needs of your visitors/users • Leverage available metric systems to gain this understanding • Make iterative changes constantly based on data so that you are always improving & becoming more customer-centric • 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

19. Step Five: Proposed Public Survey

20. User experience-centered questions • How do users feel about NCHS dashboard layout? • Were navigation options self-explanatory? • What would you say the NCHS website needs (if anything) in order to make navigation easier? • If you were not able to find the information you were looking for, what was the reason? • If you were able to find the information you were looking for, was the data comprehensible? • If you were able to find the information you were looking for, was the data useful?

21. Proposals • Boost content centered around user preference • STD’s, Zikavirus, Immunizations/Vaccines, Excel-friendly downloads, re-launch VitalStats System, etc. • Push for more advertisements of health data publications and reports • Health, United States report, publications within the National Vital Statistics System, etc. • Simplify homepage and all internal dashboards and channels • Refine search engine results, create Data Navigator Tool, standardize toolsets 4. Focus on publishing datasets of value to users

22. Remember The People Behind the Clicks

23. Thank you. Any Questions?