Accessing population health information through interactive systems: lessons learned and future directions

In the mid-1990s, several state and county public health departments implemented interactive software systems that provided easy access to public health-related data for local boards of health, other public health agencies, health care providers, community groups, and other interested members of the public. Based on their experiences with two well-established state interactive systems and one well-established county system, the authors summarize lessons that could prove useful to state and local public health agencies interested in developing new interactive systems or adapting existing ones. The article addresses issues such as: basing interactive systems on a broad definition of health, designing systems to incorporate user preferences, moving from data warehouses to information warehouses, and fostering prevention communities. Finally, the article provides recommendations to assist federal, state, and local public health agencies in developing the next generation of interactive data access systems.