Pima County COVID-19 vaccine solutions dashboard project: lessons learned

Area of Science:

• Public Health Informatics
• Data Science in Public Health
• Health Systems Modernization

Background:

• Many public health departments face challenges with outdated data systems and low data literacy.
• The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the urgent need for modernized health data systems.
• Federal funding is available to support local health departments in upgrading their data infrastructure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document the development of a "COVID-19 Vaccines Solutions Dashboard" for the Pima County Health Department.
• To quantify community vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic using data.
• To share lessons learned from this dashboard initiative to guide other health departments.

Main Methods:

• Case study approach detailing dashboard development from 2021-2022.
• Implementation of a sophisticated data analysis and visualization tool.
• Focus on quantifying community vulnerability for public health programming.

Main Results:

• Successful development and deployment of the "COVID-19 Vaccines Solutions Dashboard".
• Enhanced Pima County Health Department's ability to analyze and apply data to programs.
• Informed the development of the department's Data & Informatics Team and data culture.

Conclusions:

• Dashboard initiatives can significantly improve public health operations and data utilization.
• Cultivating a robust data culture is crucial for effective public health response.
• Lessons learned are widely applicable to other health departments facing similar data challenges.