Santa Clara County has launched an open data portal with a focus on health.
The platform, which is the work of the Santa Clara County Health Department, gives its users an online tool they can use to access health data at a near-granular level, broken down by city and neighborhood. All told, this new portal features more than 100 health topics, ranging from diabetes to opioids to vegetable consumption to even seatbelt use. It also presents its users with local metrics and demographics, allowing them to access info based on criteria as specific as income levels.
The portal, of course, is designed with searchable data that can be downloaded, and in a press release announcing its launch, county officials noted that the idea was to give all residents — including nonprofits, internal government agencies, engaged citizens, researchers, students, and media professionals — a helpful tool for work that supports the health and wellbeing of the county community.
This new portal also features more than 10 story maps, which make the information within easier to digest via the use of story maps that combine narrative text with graphics in order to illustrate certain health issues and how the county government is addressing them.
“Good data is required to make informed public health decisions, and the Open Data Portal helps all of us understand factors that contribute to our health,” said the Public Health Department director and county health officer, Dr. Sara Cody. “By making our county’s health data accessible to anyone with an Internet connection, we put power in the hands of our community and many partners to help us improve health.”
