Community HealthView Updates

What is Community HealthView?

HealthLandscape’s Community HealthView tool enables users to search a database to find publicly-available datasets and map them by state or county. Users can customize the way their data are displayed with different options for color scheme, palette, number of categories, and distribution. Current major datasets include Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) rates and measures; American Community Survey (ACS); Area Resource File (ARF); Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS); CDC Wonder; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rates, costs, and utilization; Dartmouth Atlas; Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE); National Cancer Institute State Cancer Profiles; Robert Wood Johnson Ranked Measures; and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Environment Atlas.

American Community Survey (2010-2014)

The ACS is an annual survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau to capture current information on Americans and the workforce. The most recent five-year estimates (2010-2014) are now available in Community HealthView. These datasets include demographic,  socioeconomic, and housing information, such as age, race, education, family type, employment, income, language, age of housing structures, and housing without plumbing, among many others.

CMS Multiple Chronic Conditions (2014)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services releases yearly updates to their multiple chronic conditions data. HealthLandscape updated the latest 2014 CMS data release in 2016 to Community HealthView. These data include disease prevalence and Medicare utilization and spending for multiple chronic conditions. Each of these data sets includes statistics for all Medicare beneficiaries, those less than 65, and those 65 and over.

CMS Chronic Conditions (2014)

Another set of data that CMS releases annually is the chronic conditions dataset. These data show the percentage of various conditions by Medicare beneficiary age group (total, less than 65 years, 65 and over). The data describe the percent of these Medicare beneficiaries by county with conditions such as arthritis, cancer, depression, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, hypertension, stroke, among others. These data were updated in 2016 for data year 2014.

CMS Geographic Variation (2014)

The third CMS related dataset that HealthLandscape has recently updated in Community HealthView is the 2014 Geographic Variation data. These data provide a spatial background on the distribution of various healthcare services that CMS recipients receive across the United States. Each indicator is represented as a cost and percent utilization. Some of these data include imaging, hospice care, outpatient dialysis, tests, emergency department visits, durable medical equipment, and Medicare Part B costs and utilization.

Health Indicators Warehouse (2011-2013; 2009-2013)

The Health Indicators Warehouse (HIW) releases data by single- or multiple-year on an annual basis. HealthLandscape has updated Community HealthView with the 2013 HIW prevalence data for several datasets for aggregate data years, 2011-2013, and where applicable, 2009-2013 aggregates. HIW data have been updated for several indicators including cancer and heart disease deaths, years of potential life lost, and infant mortality.

Looking forward

In the coming months, HealthLandscape will be updating Community HealthView with many more datasets that haven’t been updated in several years. Some of these will include data on 2014 Supplemental Security Income Recipients, the 2010 USDA Food Deserts, 2010-2012 HIV Prevalence from HIW, 2010-2011 Internal Revenue Service Migration Data, 2015 Census Population Estimates, and the 2016 Robert Wood Johnson Ranked and Additional Measures data.

For live updates on what will be updated next, follow us on Twitter!

David Grolling

GIS Specialist

HealthLandscape

Data Focus: The American Community Survey

A map generated from HealthLandscape's ACS QuickMaps tool showing percent of persons under 18 below poverty in the Greater Cincinnati region.


HealthLandscape's ACS QuickMaps tool was developed specifically to help you take advantage of the rich data available within the American Community Survey (ACS), the Census Bureau's newest product. Listed below are some FAQs about the survey, and how HealthLandscape makes this data available to you.

Is the American Community Survey the same as the ten-year census?

No. In fact, the ACS replaced the long form of the census in 2010. In simplest terms, the census is conducted every ten years, and is designed primarily to get a "head count," a count of the number of people in the United States and their general characteristics. The ACS is conducted every year and generates 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year data.

What kind of data does the American Community Survey collect?

The ACS collects demographic, social, economic, and housing data such as age, disability, poverty, education levels, race and ethnicity, and employment. (For a full list of topics, click here.)

What is the difference between 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year data?

Refer to the Census Bureau's chart for a detailed explanation. In general:

• One-year data is 12 months of collected data, and describes areas with populations of 65,000 or more. It is the most current data, but it is also based on the smallest sample size, so it is less reliable than 3-year or 5-year data. One-year data is not available for small geographies.
• Three-year data is 36 months of collected data, and describes areas with populations of 20,000 or more. It is less current than 1-year data, but more current than 5-year data. Three-year data is available for small geographies.
• Five-year data is 60 months of collected data, and describes areas with populations of all sizes. It is the least current, but is based on the largest sample size and is therefore the most reliable. Five-year data is available down to the census tract level.

The data is updated every year. So, for example, in December 2011, 2006-2010 5-year estimates were released. At the end of 2012, 2007-2011 5-year estimates will be released.

HealthLandscape uses 5-year ACS data in our QuickMaps tool, and 5-year, 3-year, and 1-year data in our Community HealthView tool.

Where can I get more information about the ACS data sets included in HealthLandscape?

We publish metadata (data about the data) for each data set.

If you're using QuickMaps, look at the bottom center of the screen. You'll find general information about the data set, and a link to the Census Bureau for more information.

If you're using the Community HealthView tool, enter "American Community Survey" in the search box to locate ACS data. Then click the "about" link next to the data set. You'll see detailed metadata, including an abstract, type of data (1-year, 3-year, or 5-year), whether it's state, county, or tract-level data, what fields are included in the data set, and other useful information.


All ACS data is downloadable from the Census Bureau's web site. Our goal at HealthLandscape is to do some of that hard work for you, to make public data sets available in a way that's immediately useful to you and your organization. We want to help you show the need, tell your story, and explore alternatives.

Sign up for an Intro to HealthLandscape webinar to see ACS QuickMaps and Community HealthView in action. If you have specific questions about HealthLandscape or the American Community Survey, contact us at info@healthlandscape.org, or call 513-458-6674.

Using Pinterest and HealthLandscape as a Way to Share Your Community Data

Have a Pinterest account? HealthLandscape does too. We just set ours up a week or so ago, so we can begin to showcase some of our tools and current projects. (Look for it to build out over time.)

Pinterest has taken hold because it harnesses the power of visual communication. Any image can be pinned—a photo, ad, infographic, data visualization, or video—and it will grab your viewer's attention quicker than words alone would.

So have you thought about using Pinterest as a way to share your mapped data? Your map + Pinterest could equal more traffic to your web site and more of your data getting out into the community!

Simply follow these steps:

• Develop your map in HealthLandscape using our QuickGeocodes, QuickThemes, or Community HealthView tool.
• Save the file.
• Upload the finished file to your organization's Pinterest site. 
• Be sure to add a description of the map and some creative copy that links to your organization's web site.
• Anticipate referral traffic!

We created a QuickMap of population change data in the Detroit area and posted it on our Pinterest site as an example. Follow us there and see how Pinterest + HealthLandscape can work for you!