U of A Launches Dashboard to Track and Improve Arkansas Health

Arkansas loses an estimated 11,384 years of potential life annually for every 100,000 residents under age 75 — thousands of missed birthdays, unfinished careers and lost time with family. Arkansas ranks 43rd in the nation for premature death, driven in part by some of the country's highest rates of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. 

A new University of Arkansas dashboard will help communities understand the drivers of poor health and improve outcomes across the state. 

The dashboard from the school's Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences presents results of the Arkansas Health Survey, giving health professionals, researchers, nonprofit agencies and policymakers detailed data about the state's health. 

"We cannot address premature death without first understanding the conditions that contribute to it," said Michael Niño, U of A associate professor of sociology and criminology and the lead researcher for the Arkansas Health Survey. "The Arkansas Health Survey dashboard helps make those conditions visible — whether chronic disease, depression, food insecurity or barriers to care — so communities across Arkansas can use data to make smarter decisions and improve health." 

Based on responses from 10,000 Arkansans, the survey — conducted in collaboration with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences — provides the most detailed portrait to date of health in the state. The data track the prevalence of 26 health and health-related indicators, including obesity, depression and food insecurity, across Arkansas's 823 census tracts. Arkansas currently ranks 49th in the nation for overall health outcomes. 

"This project reflects Fulbright College's role as a public-serving institution," said Brian Raines, dean of Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. "By making these data publicly available, the Arkansas Health Survey and its dashboard help ensure that knowledge generated here can lead to real improvement in people's lives." 

The AR-COMPASS dashboard also highlights places where health outcomes exceed the state average, and it allows researchers and public health experts to study why some communities are thriving so they can apply those insights to improve health statewide. 

The dashboard is maintained by Niño's Arkansas Health Equity and Access Lab at the U of A. 

A Tool for Arkansas 

To build the AR-COMPASS dashboard, Niño partnered with Grant Drawve of CAP Index, a global firm that helps companies forecast crime risk using spatial data. The same analytical tools that corporations use to evaluate security risks were adapted to map and organize the Arkansas Health Survey results. 

"CAP Index has 30 years of doing this, taking complex data and trying to break it down for the layperson to understand what's going on," said Drawve, describing the public-private partnership. 

Drawve brought technical expertise to the Arkansas Health Survey project, drawing on decades of experience presenting complex data to policymakers, researchers and the public. 

"It's truly built for anyone who is interested in health in Arkansas," Drawve said.

Drawve said making the survey data publicly available is an important step toward improving health outcomes across the state. Collecting and organizing this information requires significant resources, and open accessallows communities, researchers and decision-makers to use the data to guide solutions. 

Explore the AR-COMPASS dashboard at uaheal.uark.edu. 

Niño will host a media webinar on May 30 at 1 p.m. to demonstrate the dashboard and show reporters how to use it as a resource for future health-related stories. Additional details will be shared soon.