The data below were taken from PLACES: Local Data for Better Health. PLACES is a collaboration between the CDC, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the CDC Foundation that allows local public health departments to better understand how the burden of health-related outcomes differ by geographic distribution in their area and assist in planning public health interventions. “PLACES provides model-based population-level analysis and community estimates to all counties, places (incorporated and census designated places), census tracts, and ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) across the United States. PLACES is an extension of the original 500 Cities Project that provided city and census tract estimates for chronic disease risk factors, health outcomes, and clinical preventive services use for the 500 largest US cities.” (CDC, PLACES site)
The data used for PLACES comes from The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). “BRFSS is the nation’s premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. Established in 1984 with 15 states, BRFSS now collects data in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories. BRFSS completes more than 400,000 adult interviews each year, making it the largest continuously conducted health survey system in the world.” (BRFSS)
BRFSS Questionnaire (2020)
How to use the Dashboard:
- Select what Category you want to search and select the Indicator of interest. Note: when you switch between different Categories the screen will go blank. You just need to select an Indicator from the Indicator filter.
- The data will automatically update: read through the Numerator, Background, Significance, and Limitations .
- Hover over any part on the map of St. Louis County and you will see the values associated with each census tract. The map also has a zoom function in the top left corner. Click on the “pin” to reset the map.