Louisville City Wire

On January 31, the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW) launched a new Health Equity Data Dashboard. It provides a current data snapshot of the city's overall health. It includes demographics and data for seven initial health outcomes, with nine more to be added over the coming months.

“My goal is to create a safer, stronger and healthier Louisville and to do that, we must create a more equitable city,” said Mayor Craig Greenberg. “This data offers valuable insights and perspectives that will help our team, public health leaders and community partners better determine how to make Louisville a place where everyone can reach their full health potential.”  

 

The seven health outcomes that can currently be viewed on the Health Equity Data Dashboard include:  

•    Accidents and injury

•    Alzheimer's Disease

•    Arthritis  

•    Birth Outcomes  

•    Cancer  

•    Heart Disease

•    Homicide

 

The dashboard also provides analysis around root causes that influence each health outcome.  

“Health is not just about whether someone has diabetes or heart disease. Health is about daily life experiences, environments where we live, work, learn, play and age, and opportunities to live a joyous and healthy life,” said Louisville’s Interim Chief Health Strategist Connie Mendel. “Health equity is core to our mission and is woven throughout our decisions and daily operations.”  

“Having good health is not just about having good genes and making good choices,” said Dr. Inder Singal, interim medical director at LMPHW. “The choices available aren’t the same for everyone. Choices available to people are dictated by policies and practices that concentrate resources for some and leave scarcity for others. For example, we know that many people in our community have extremely limited access to healthcare or healthy food while others have much easier access to all these services. As a community we must analyze the data, involve community partners, and find cohesive, sustainable solutions to better serve the needs of all Louisvillians.”

In addition to the Health Equity Data Dashboard, LMPHW released a preview and executive summary of the 2023 Health Equity Report.

Some key findings of health outcomes reflected on the Health Equity Data Dashboard and 2023 Health Equity Executive Summary report include:  

•    Compared to six years ago, Jefferson County has seen a decline in life expectancy.

•    The current life expectancy for Jefferson County residents is about 74.8 years. However, the average life expectancy in the northwest core -- where predominately Black residents live -- is 65.4 years, which is over 15 years less than those living in the eastern part of the county.  

•    Heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death for residents countywide, although Black residents experience those causes of death at higher rates than any other racial/ethnic group.

Louisville Metro’s health equity reports, first published in 2011 and previously released in 2017, take an in-depth look at the root causes of health inequities and factors that affect life expectancy and the quality of life. Over the next several months, LMPHW will be adding data for nine more health outcomes to the dashboard and will release the full 2023 Health Equity Report (HER).

The new Healthy Equity Data Dashboard can be found at www.louhealthdata.com. The preview and executive summary of the 2023 Health Equity Report can be found at www.healthequityreport.com.

Original source can be found here.