1. Improving NCHS Data Dissemination
Ellen Bloom
UMD School of Public Policy
Project Course 2017

2. Mission Statement
“As the Nation’s principal health statistics agency, NCHS leads the way with accurate, relevant, and timely data.”

3. Reality
“NCHS scores are lower than average for ability to navigate the site and search for or locate the documents or data…
In terms of the metrics platform, it used to be that we could expect a healthy 5-10% increase each year in number of page views/visits. In the last couple years, however, that has declined or stayed the same from year to year.”
-Anthony Lipphardt,
Health Communications Specialist, NCHS
Although NCHS scores for the quality of information on the site are typically higher than average (when compared to other government agencies)…

4. Project Purpose
To improve user experience & generate more traffic to all NCHS data portals
To ensure health data is being efficiently & effectively distributed to as many people as possible
To increase the utility of NCHS data
To keep the public informed

5. SiteCatalyst Findings
Step One:
SiteCatalyst Findings

6. Top Health Concerns of the Public
Immunizations/Vaccines
STD’s
Zika Virus
Mortality Rates
Birth Defects & Developmental Disabilities
Medical discoveries & research
Staying healthy while traveling
yearly recommended immunizations for children from birth through six years old, flu vaccine

7. Step Two:
2016 Survey Findings

8. The people answering this question are already the most likely to visit the NCHS website, yet, many of them responded saying they had never accessed it before or had only accessed it 1-5 times in 2016

9. Although, many respondents felt NCHS information was easy to find, interpret, and distributed in a timely manner, over one hundred respondents felt differently.
majority of respondents believed that the listserv for one or more NCHS surveys and the public use microdata files available on the NCHS site are serving their function well, a number of respondents gave contradictory answers.

13. User Preference & Demographic
Excel is the most preferred analytical software
Most common user is a student
Most users use NCHS information for academic research and/or school projects
Over half of all NCHS users are coming from an academic/research institution

14. Dashboard Comparison Tables NCHS, CMS, FDA
Step Three:
Dashboard Comparison Tables NCHS, CMS, FDA

15. Dashboard Comparison Table Summary
Agency
NCHS
CMS
FDA
Home Page Navigation
4 Useful
5 Very useful
Other webpage navigation
2 Somewhat useful
Submenu
Content Labels
Tabs or labels for different users
Search engine
Data Navigator Tool
3 Not present

16. Step Four:
Interview Data from CMS & FDA
Office of Communication Heads

17. CMS Interview Data Work with users to identify their needs
Select open data/data dissemination tools that match these requirements
Standardize toolsets to the extent possible
Focus on publishing datasets of value to your users
Explore visualizations to make the data more accessible
- Jon Booth, Director
Web & New Media Group
Office of Communications, CMS

18. FDA Interview Data Understand the needs of your visitors/users
Leverage available metric systems to gain this understanding
Make iterative changes constantly based on data so that you are always improving & becoming more customer-centric
The priorities of your organization are important, but knowing what your customers want/need is more important
-Chris Mulieri, Director
Web and Digital Media
Office of Web Communications, FDA

19. Proposed Public Survey
Step Five:
Proposed Public Survey

20. User experience-centered questions
How do users feel about NCHS dashboard layout?
Were navigation options self-explanatory?
What would you say the NCHS website needs (if anything) in order to make navigation easier?
If you were not able to find the information you were looking for, what was the reason?
If you were able to find the information you were looking for, was the data comprehensible?
If you were able to find the information you were looking for, was the data useful?
Explain what each question would bring to the table

21. Proposals Boost content centered around user preference
STD’s, Zika virus, Immunizations/Vaccines, Excel-friendly downloads, re-launch VitalStats System, etc.
Push for more advertisements of health data publications and reports
Health, United States report, publications within the National Vital Statistics System, etc.
Simplify homepage and all internal dashboards and channels
Refine search engine results, create Data Navigator Tool, standardize toolsets
4. Focus on publishing datasets of value to users

22. Remember The People Behind the Clicks

23. Thank you.
Any Questions?