California Air Resources Board

Purpose

Please join us for a research seminar on CalHealthMap: Improved Assessment and Tracking of Health Impacts for California Communities Most Burdened by Pollution

Researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) partnered with the Public Health Institute’s Health Tracking California Program, Comite Civico del Valle (CCV), and Oregon State University (OSU) to develop CalHealthMap. This mapping tool is an online resource available publicly to help visualize, track, and communicate, for all California neighborhoods, information on health conditions that are sensitive to changes in air quality.

Summary

CalHealthMap Key Features: 

• Interactive data visualizations by zip code, health outcome, and year, with additional educational resources plus data downloads;
• Measured health outcomes that include emergency room visits, deaths, cardiac dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, stroke, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes;
• Computations of the number of excess cases as compared to California’s healthiest communities and to the state average.

The research team developed CalHealthMap using health data collected yearly by zip code from the Healthcare Access and Information and California Comprehensive Death File. They collaborated closely with community-based organizations in the Bay Area, Central Valley, and Los Angeles area on what types of health information community members would find most useful, as well as the best strategies for summarizing data for the public.

This seminar will present how this new tool was developed in consultation with community groups, including why, what, and how included health conditions were measured. Demonstrations will be given of CalHealthMap’s key features and how the public can utilize this new resource to better understand the impacts of air quality on their community’s health.

Please register for the seminar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about how to join the seminar by computer or telephone.

For more information about this research project, visit the project’s webpage. The project webpage will host the final report, presentation slides, and seminar recording once they become available. For more information about CARB’s Research Program, visit our website or email us directly with any questions or comments at research@arb.ca.gov.