Mapping Health: New Data-Sharing Platform Highlights Regional Community Health

Health researchers and community partners can map local health outcomes and social determinants of health using the new Roc Health Data website, found at RocHealthData.Org. The newly-launched website contains extensive information on the region’s health challenges and resources shown in both map and report formats.

The Roc Health Data is built within the CARES Engagement Network, a publicly accessible data-sharing platform containing thousands of layers of mapped data. Our local hub site uses this national information backbone to build a site for local data and allows users to generate maps by geographical area (i.e., the City of Rochester, counties or census tracts in our region) and topic (i.e. food insecurity, tobacco use or mental health status).  

These data are readily available to support hub members’ grant applications, project recruitment efforts and for the development of public health initiatives. Researchers and community partners who register at the site may also share data in report or map form with the larger community, which is often required by funding agencies.

The site also highlights hub members’ research on its homepage, swapping in new projects each month. Currently, the site features a project mapping the variability in cancer rates across our region to better inform cancer care and prevention efforts at the Wilmot Cancer Institute. 

To become a member, go to RocHealthData.org and click register. Members must agree to protect personal health information when sharing data. You can also find a link to Roc Health Data at the bottom of the UR CTSI's Resources webpage. 

If you have questions, please contact us at RocHealthData@urmc.rochester.edu.

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Roc Health Data is supported by University of Rochester Medical Center’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the Center for Community Health and Prevention, with advice and input from our community partners, Common Ground Health, the Monroe County Department of Public Health, and the Rochester Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO).

Michael Hazard | 8/17/2018

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