Data Visualizations & Research
Find all research and reports created by The Big Cities Health Coalition.
BCHC and CSTE Report on Epidemiology Capacity in Big Cities
September 2018 — The Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) collaborated with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) to assess epidemiology capacity in large, urban health departments. 27 of the 30 BCHC member departments participated in the assessment. Read the full report here.
BCHC Environmental Working Group Presents at National Conference
June 2018 - Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) staff, along with representatives from member departments Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and Baltimore City Health Department, presented at the National Environmental Health Association's Annual Education Conference and HUD Healthy Homes Conference. Their presentation was an overview of the work being done by the BCHC Environmental Justice Working Group. View the presentation HERE.
World Cancer Day, Wear Red Day Even More Vital This Year with Planned Repeal of ACA
February 2017 - Data released by the Big Cities Health Coalition show that the rates of heart disease and cancer vary widely across American cities. These data are from the Big Cities Health Inventory Data Platform and were released to mark Wear Red for Heart Disease Day (February 3) and World Cancer Day (February 4).
Read the press release.
Big Cities Health Coalition Highlights Urban HIV/AIDS Data to Mark World AIDS Day
December 2016 - To mark World AIDS Day 2016, The Big Cities Health Coalition released data today to mark World AIDS Day highlighting diagnoses rates for HIV and AIDS in America's largest, most urban cities. The data are sourced from the Big Cities Health Inventory Data Platform, an online resource that compiles public health statistics for the Coalition’s member cities.
Read the press release.
Case Studies: Opioid Overdose Prevention, Solutions to Violence, and Treating Lead Exposure
November 2016 - To coincide with the release of the Big Cities Health Inventory Data Platform 2.0, the Coalition is releasing three case studies that showcase effective policy and program innovations on the city level.
Read about preventing opioid overdoses in Baltimore.
Learn more about preventing violence in Boston, Minneapolis and Kansas City.
Find out how Portland coordinated resources to better address lead poisoning in children.
Data: In Big Cities, Men Die of Opioid Overdoses More than Women
June 2016 - City data show that men who live in the largest, most urban cities are dying in greater numbers of unintentional opioid overdoses than are women. These 11 cities also reported higher deaths rates from opioids than the U.S. as a whole. Negotiations are also currently underway in the U.S. Congress to address the epidemic.
A number of cities in the Coalition are using innovative policies to reduce opioid deaths, including Baltimore, whose Health Commissioner, Dr. Leana Wen, published a blog on the Coalition’s website detailing actions she and her health department have taken to prevent opioid overdoses. Wen discusses the standing order— a blanket prescription—she issued to make an antidote called naloxone available to all 620,000 residents of Baltimore. Since 2015, her department has trained over 10,000 people to use naloxone, including members of the police force, who have in turn saved the lives of 30 residents in just the past six months.
Read the press release.
Data Analysis: Big City Teens Smoke Less
May 2016 - A new look at data from the Big Cities Health Inventory data platform shows that teenagers who live in the largest, most urban cities typically smoke less than other American teens. Many of these high-performing jurisdictions have passed evidence-based laws to curb youth smoking. The release coincides with World No Tobacco Day, May 31st, which is sponsored annually by the World Health Organization (WHO) to highlight the health risks associated with tobacco and encourage governments to adopt tobacco reduction strategies.
Read the press release.
Read the Chicago Health Commissioner's blog, "How the Windy City is Stopping Kids from Lighting Up."
Why Should Congress Raise the Tobacco Sale Age to 21?
April 2016 - At our recent Congressional Briefing Tobacco 21: Raise the Age to Save Lives, held in collaboration with Trinity Health and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, we released this graphic on why Tobacco 21 should be passed at the federal level.
For National Public Health Week, Coalition Evaluates Cities' Progress on 2020 Goals
April 2016 - The Big Cities Health Coalition created a new infographic to mark National Public Health Week, which takes place between April 4th-8th. The graphic takes a look at cities progress towards their Health People 2020 Goals, which are benchmarks that were created 30 years ago by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to improve health by key measures by 2020.
View the infographic here.
To Mark World Cancer Day and Wear Red Day, Coalition Releases Infographics on Cancer and Heart Disease in the Big Cities
February 2016 - The Big Cities Health Coalition released two infographics to coincide with National Cancer Prevention Month, World Cancer Day (February 4th), and Wear Red Day (February 5th), which raises awareness about heart disease in women. The graphics feature data that show how some of America's largest cities are faring in the battle against these two major public health challenges.
View the infographics here.
View the press release here.
Big Cities Health Inventory Data Platform
November 2015 - The Health Inventory Data Platform is an open data platform that allows users to access and analyze health data from 26 cities, for 34 health indicators, and across six demographic indicators. It enables users to explore data both by city and by indicator, facilitates comparisons among urban areas, and provides an avenue to understand the major health concerns of cities in the United States. More importantly, it provides the opportunity to download the entire data set, or portions of it, for research purposes.
Access the Big Cities Health Inventory Data Platform.
Big Cities Health Inventory Report: Case Studies
November 2015 - The Big Cities Health Inventory report highlights some of the innovative ways that cities are addressing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Winnable Battles” through 12 case studies. These are key health priorities connected to the leading causes of death and disease. The individual case studies report on cutting-edge programs and innovative approaches to address health challenges in select cities.
Download all 12 case studies here, or read them separately, below.
Food Safety
Chicago: Digital Sleuthing & Engagement to Battle Foodborne Illness
Los Angeles: Restaurant Grades Lower Illness While Boosting Awareness and Consumer Engagement
HIV / AIDS
Houston: Houston Hits Home with Youth and HIV/STD Testing
San Francisco: Determined to Get to Zero When It Comes to HIV
Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity
Philadelphia: Innovative Efforts Have Philadelphia Seeing Big Drops in Obesity Among Youths of Color
Clark County (Las Vegas): Getting Physically Active and Cutting Calories via Mobile Apps, Social Media, and Technology
Fulton County (Atlanta): Collective Impact Against Diabetes Gains Traction
Tobacco
New York City: Preventing the Habit Anchors the Big Apple's Tobacco 21 & Minimum Price Laws
Seattle-King County: Early E-Cigarette Ban Reignited Effort to Snuff Out Tobacco Smoking
Violence
Boston: Trauma Awareness Helps Reduce Violence and Its Community Impact
Minneapolis: Taking on Youth Violence
Kansas City: It's about Interpersonal Relationships
Journal of Public Health Management and Practice:
Big City Supplement
January 2015 - The BCHC released a special issue in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice: "Big City Health Departments: Leadership Perspectives." The supplement highlights innovative strategies and programs driven by those on the front lines of some of the largest American cities and focuses on how urban health departments can make cities healthier places to live. Written by health commissioners, the supplement offers recommendations for how local health departments can confront a wide range of health issues in their communities. In light of the Affordable Care Act’s passage, the supplement also addresses concerns and strategies for this new era in health policy.
Watch an introduction to the supplement by the coalition's Senior Advisor, Shelley Hearne, DrPH, below.