Publication alert! IALH Research Fellows Simon Minshall, Helen Monkman and Andre Kushniruk have co-authored a research article with Luca Calzoni of National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities entitled Towards the Adoption of Novel Visualizations in Public Health. The article was published in Studies in Health Technology and Informatics.
Abstract:
Visualizations form an important part of public health informatics (PHI) communications. Visualizing data facilitates discussion, aids understanding, makes patterns apparent, promotes analysis, and fosters recall. How rare are novel visualizations in the PHI literature? In Phase 1, we used a rapid review methodology to test the commonness of the Sankey diagram in the PHI theory literature via an automated text search for key terms. In Phase 2, we prototype an uncommon chart type. A total of 27 relevant papers were searched and a computer-generated Sankey diagram was prototyped. PHI professionals have access to visualization tools emerging from social media and niche systems. PHI literature underutilizes uncommon visualizations requiring programming expertise. The authors advocate for: multi-disciplinary teamwork, technical education, the use of open visualization tools, and further adoption of visualization for public health professionals.
To read the full article, see https://ebooks.iospress.nl/doi/10.3233/SHTI220680