Report From the Field: Public Health Equity Through Innovative Multisector Data Sharing

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Equity Research
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Multisector data sharing is an emerging concept in public health for driving health equity.
• The extent of public health entities' engagement in cross-sectoral data sharing is underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the nature and extent of innovative data sharing across sectors by public health entities.
• To assess how these data sharing practices support organizational missions for community health equity and well-being.

Main Methods:

• Pilot testing, revising, and disseminating the 2021 All In National Inventory survey.
• Scanning the environment to track progress and challenges in data sharing initiatives.
• Developing use cases and engaging communities in co-creating shared data systems.

Main Results:

• Public health plays a key role in cross-sector data sharing innovation for community health improvement.
• Public health entities often lead initiatives to improve health and promote health equity.
• National data indicate significant opportunities to enhance equitable data sharing practices.

Conclusions:

• Cross-sector data sharing is foundational for community health improvement and health equity.
• While public health leads these efforts, there is a need to further embed equitable practices in data sharing.
• Continued innovation and infrastructure development are crucial for maximizing the impact of shared data.