Happy New Year!
For the first #IronQuest of 2020 I’m excited to be joining forces with Lindsay Betzendahl to present a #ProjectHealthViz and #IronQuest collaboration!
After the success of the #SportsVizSunday collaboration last year, I was keen to team up with another community project. Not only does this give you another fantastic opportunity to practice and refine your Tableau skills, it also introduces both projects to new audiences too.
What is #ProjectHealthViz?
#ProjectHealthViz was founded by Lindsay Betzendahl in 2018.
In her words,
#ProjectHealthViz grew out of a need I saw in the Tableau Community. Healthcare is a huge topic around the world as costs of healthcare rise and various illness continue to see increased prevalence rates. We are all impacted by health. Health is part of being a living being. Therefore, I believe we all can be impacted by healthcare data and thus it can be interesting data to visualize.
It’s important for me to create a community of Tableau users in the healthcare field. I’ve appreciated in the past other community members who have shared their work-related dashboards. I find it helpful to see how others are visualizing similar data as I am. This project is also an effort to create a resource for Tableau users in healthcare to seek out each other and share visualizations.
Every month, Lindsay sources a dataset on a health-related topic. The community then create visualisations using the provided data and share their work on Twitter using the hashtag #ProjectHealthViz.
As of December 2019, 234 vizzes has been submitted to the project! You can view the project tracker here to learn more about the topics and project participants to date.
Healthcare in Prisons
This months’ topic is “Healthcare in Prisons”.
International law recognises the right of everyone, including people deprived of their liberty, to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. That includes access to medical services, sanitation, adequate food, and a clean environment. However, prisoners often receive inferior healthcare (if any healthcare at all) compared to that available to people living in the community.
In prison, inmates with known health conditions may have their needs ignored. Meanwhile, others may develop new health issues during their sentences which require them to have access to the necessary health treatments.
Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that, in 2005, more than half of all inmates in the US had mental health problems. US studies have also shown that (when compared to the general population), inmates of both genders are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, asthma, cancer and arthritis. Prisons themselves can also be a breeding ground for infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis (TB). For example, a study focused on European prisons by the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that the incidence of TB (which thrives in cramped, overcrowded conditions), can be up to 81 times higher in prisons than among the general population.
Healthcare in prisons is a serious public health issue which Lindsay and I thought would be beneficial to explore through data and recognise for this round of both projects.
Where can I find some data?
As always, you can visualise any data somewhat related to the topic.
For this round, Lindsay has published some datasets for #ProjectHealthViz on Data.World. The published datasets focus on healthcare (specifically mental health) in US prisons, from 2011-2012. However, if you aren’t drawn to this dataset, you are free to source your own data to visualise,as long as it is related to the topic of healthcare in prisons.
Here are a few datasets we have sourced for inspiration but there are plenty more available through a quick Google search.
World Health Organisation – Europe
Health Morbidity in Brazilian Prisons
Use of health services by prison inmates: comparisons with the community (UK)
Data on Common Health Problems Reported by Prison Inmates (US)
National Survey of Prison Health Care
The Lancet – US mass incarceration damages health and shortens lives
The Gender Divide: Tracking Women’s State Prison Growth
How can I enter #IronQuest?
The process is simple:
- Source your data and build a viz that somehow touches upon the chosen theme for the month. Remember the Iron Viz judging criteria and try to focus on all three in your work; Design, Storytelling and Analysis.
- Upload your viz to Tableau Public or somewhere where it can be openly viewed online.
- Fill in the #IronQuest submissions tracker (at the bottom of this post) so we can keep track of who is participating. This step is essential if you want feedback from us or would like to be credited in the wrap-up blog post or participation viz.
- Since this month is a collaboration, you’ll also need to complete the #ProjectHealthViz submissions tracker available here.
- Feel free to share your visualisations on social media (if you wish) using the hashtags #IronQuest and #ProjectHealthViz.
- If you opted in for feedback in step 3, the guest judge and myself will provide constructive feedback on your viz after the submission period closes.
Top Tips
- You can use any data set which fits the theme (as long as you have permission to share it publicly).
- Always remember to credit your data source/s on your viz.
- Refrain from using any images or logos on your viz unless you have permission to do so.
- Think outside the box! Be creative and have fun!
Who is my guest judge?
As this month is a collaboration, it will come as no surprise that I’ll be teaming up with Lindsay Betzendahl, founder and leader of #ProjectHealthViz! Lindsay has over 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry in quality management, data consulting, and applied clinical positions. She is a current Tableau Public Ambassador, has achieved 6 Tableau Public “Viz of the Days” and 3 Vizzie Awards (from the Tableau Wannabe Podcast crew) and regularly gives presentations on Tableau and data visualization at conferences and Tableau User Groups. Phew!
Lindsay is on Twitter as @ZenDollData and blogs at vizzendata.com.
When is the submission deadline?
The deadline for submissions is Midnight PST on Friday 7th February 2020. Feedback will be provided (to those who request it) by Lindsay and I shortly after the deadline.
Continue the conversation and connect with other participants by joining the Iron Quest Slack channel here. Also, be sure to follow the #IronQuest and #ProjectHealthViz hashtags on Twitter and LinkedIn too.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing your entry!
Don’t forget to submit your entry using the form below.
Sarah Loves Data 