Increased Access to Health Data Aim of New DOH Tool

A new resource for members of the public seeking health data in their communities has been launched by the Hawai’i  Department of Health.

DOH’s Hawai’i Health Data Warehouse has introduced a new easy-to-use interactive query reporting tool called the Indicator-Based Information System, or IBIS, which provides users more control to find and access data they are seeking.

Hawai’i is joining nine other states and two federal agencies that are currently using the IBIS system for public health data.

“The new HHDW platform puts Hawai’i’s health data at the public’s fingertips,” said Health Director Virginia Pressler. “Giving Hawai’i residents easy access to this information, including the ability to track our progress towards meeting state and national health goals and objectives, is an important priority for the Department of Health.”

Since 2004, HHDW has served as the online clearinghouse for state health data. The site provides access to hundreds of statistics about the health of people in Hawai’i from five different public health survey datasets. Information regarding births, deaths, and marriages are all included in the data.

Improvement that led to the new site were based on feedback from current users and now provides the ability to pinpoint the data users need and provides options regarding its display.

The addition of IBIS is not the only feature added. HHDW’s “Healthy People 2020 Tracker” tracks Hawai’i’s progress towards national Healthy People 2020 targets, and objectives listed in state health plans are also measured.

“Providing multiple ways to access and share data increases the likelihood that the public will use the information,” said Ranjani Starr, epidemiologist for the Department of Health Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division. “Hawai’i students, researchers, concerned citizens, and policy makers now have a variety of tools available to them to generate data for their diverse needs.”