Building a Sustainable Open Data Ecosystem for Public Health Services and Systems Research

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Overview

This study examines the utility of making existing, publicly-available health data more accessible to state and local public health professionals for use in targeting and tailoring their programs and policies. Dr. Martin evaluates 200 federal, state, and local health datasets, interviews New York State (NYS) health department and other state agency staff, and completes a NYS pilot study using measures of child obesity and built environment from publicly-available datasets.

Presentations

• Integrating Public Health Researchers into the Open Data Ecosystem (California Health and Human Services Open DataFest III, Sacramento, March 2016)
• Assessing the Policy, Management, and Technology Challenges of Releasing Open Health Data in New York State (Abstract accepted for Poster, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Annual Meeting, November 2015)
• Evaluating the Quality, Usability, and Fitness of Open Health Data for Public Health Research (Systems for Action Research Seminar, University of Kentucky, October 2015 recording)
• Evaluating the Quality, Usability, and Fitness of Open Data for Health Research, Poster presentation (2015 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, June 2015)
• Evaluating the Quality, Usability, and Fitness of Open Data for Public Health Research (PHSSR Keeneland Conference, April 2015)
• Evaluating the Quality, Usability, and Fitness of Open Data for Public Health Research (PHSSR Research in Progress Webinar series, March 2015, recording)
• Innovative Uses of Open Health Data: New York's Early Experiences and Future Directions (NYS Health Innovation Challenge Luminary Talks, October 2014)
• Evaluating the Quality, Usability, and Fitness of Open Health Data: Systematic Review of Open Data Objects on Federal, State and Local Platforms (Thursday Policy Lunch, SUNY University at Albany, September 2014)
• Evaluating the Quality, Usability, and Fitness of Open Health Data: Systematic Review of Open Data Objects on Federal, State and Local Platforms (Health Data NY Team Meeting, July 2014)
• Open Data Priorities: Aligning Public Health Researchers’ Needs with Agencies’ Organizational Capacities to Release Data (Poster, PHSSR Keeneland Conference, April 2014)

Publications

• Opening Health Data: What Do Researchers Want? Early Experiences With New York's Open Health Data Platform (Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, Sept./Oct. 2015)
• Liberating Data to Transform Health Care: New York's Open Data Experience (JAMA, June 2014)

Tools:

• Research Overview and Implications (Video interview with Erika Martin, October 2015)

Research Areas

• Information and Technology
• Information and Communication Technologies

Contact

Researcher: Erika Martin, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Research Mentor: Guthrie Birkhead, M.D., M.P.H.