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IDPH Data Warehouse

Welcome

This website is designed to keep Iowans informed about an important advancement in promoting and protecting the health of Iowans-the development of the Iowa Department of Public Health Data Warehouse.

What's NEW?!

IDPH is partnering with the Vexcel Corporation, a subsidiary of Microsoft, Microsoft Consulting Services, and Infusion to complete the Data Warehouse system replacement. These partners have extensive experience in developing longitudinal data systems for other state agencies including the Montana Office of Public Instruction and the Connecticut Environmental Public Health Tracking program.

This project involves several key components:

  • Development of two access points- a secure portal containing implicitly confidential data and a public portal with non-confidential data
  • Use of the most recently available version of MS SharePoint as the interface for the public and secure portals
  • Addition of multiple datasets with a focus on environmental health

This project will provide unprecedented access to Iowa health data. While the replacement system is under development, the existing warehouse will remain active. County health snapshots have been posted on this site under “Health Snapshots” for public and health partner use. For more information on the Data Warehouse system replacement, view the DWH Frequently Asked Questions.

What is the Iowa Department of Public Health Data Warehouse?

The data warehouse is an active, web-based application that organizes and stores health data from a variety of sources. The application also provides basic reports that summarize health data. By having a number of important datasets in one central place, users are able to easily obtain snapshots of the health of individual counties and the state of Iowa as a whole.

The vision of the data warehouse is to provide access to health data to help Iowans make more efficient and effective decisions in promoting and protecting the public's health.

What kind of data is included in the current warehouse?

The data in the warehouse are health-related and organized by subject area. There are four major datasets currently in the data warehouse -birth, death, behavioral, and hospitalization data. These data are obtained from birth and death certificates, the national Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and the Statewide Inpatient Discharge data.

In addition to the datasets, County Health Snapshots are available. These snapshots are updated every year and may be accessed by users.

New datasets, reports, and tools for viewing data are being added each year.

Who can access the current warehouse?

There are two types of users who may access the data warehouse. Basic users include local public health agency staff who accesses the data through a web-based portal. Advanced users are IDPH staff with secure access to the data warehouse. Both basic and advanced users must request access to the data warehouse through the project coordinator.

What are the current and future plans for the Data Warehouse?

Throughout 2011 and 2012, Data Warehouse and Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) staff have completed extensive planning efforts. Key accomplishments include:

  • Completion of a department-wide and external stakeholder needs assessment
  • Business plan based on the results of needs assessment
  • Business requirements for the public and secure portals, as part of the warehouse system replacement
  • Migration of 2009 data
  • Acquisition and loading of EPHT data in preparation for the start of contractual work
  • Identification of a vendor for the development phase of the project starting in Fall 2012

It is anticipated that contractual work on the system replacement will being in Fall of 2012. There are several other milestones slated for 2012 and 2013.

2012

2013

  • Release of new public and secure access portals for the Data Warehouse
  • Availability of new datasets including:
    • Air quality
    • Birth defects
    • Cancer
    • Child blood lead
    • Water quality
  • Comprehensive list of 78 nationally-consistent data measures as part of the EPHT program
  • New reporting functions, data view tools and user access levels
  • Addition of 2010 and 2011 data

For more detailed information on short-term goals and objective, view the Data Warehouse Strategic and Operational Plan. To learn more about the Data Warehouse planning efforts, view the IDPH Data Needs Assessment Summary report and the Data Warehouse Business plan.

Contact Information

For information about the IDPH Data Warehouse, please contact:

Meg Harris
Data Warehouse Coordinator
Bureau of Communication and Planning
Iowa Department of Public Health
321 E. 12th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
Phone: (515) 725-2179

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