The Congressional District Health Dashboard: Parsing and Disseminating Public Health Data for a Political Geography

Introduction Health-related data are most impactful when presented at geographic resolutions relevant to users’ goals. Data at the Congressional District level are necessary for providing timely and actionable information to US legislators, constituents, the media, and advocates seeking to better understand health determinants and outcomes in their districts. Methods This article describes the Congressional District Health Dashboard’s development, cartographic and analytic work, features, and relevance for health policy tracking and action. Results Descriptive statistics for Medicaid enrollment and diabetes prevalence are presented for two example states, Arkansas and Washington. Conclusion The Congressional District Health Dashboard (CDHD) is a unique resource that presents data on health metrics and social, economic and environmental drivers of health for all 435 United States Congressional districts.