Putting the public in public health

Everyone, regardless of their understanding of science, epidemiology, or analytics, should have access to public health data they can understand. It’s called data democratization. To assist all communities in Washington state, DOH is working to remove barriers and bottlenecks that prevent access to health information.

Data empowers members of the public to improve local services, overcome obstacles, and increase opportunities to thrive. Data democratization can have a profound effect on racial equity, help heal historical trauma in our community, and assist leaders in making their own decisions for optimum health and equity. For traditionally marginalized communities, owning their data means they are empowered storytellers, not just the subjects of a study.

Making agency data more available and understandable requires DOH to restructure its approach to data sharing and embrace a more customer-centric model. This includes clarifying and streamlining confusing processes for releasing data and plain-talking complicated concepts.

To assist in this transformation, DOH has created a Data Democratization Unit to champion new approaches to data sharing. The unit will facilitate the development of Ethical Principles for Data Sharing in Public Health Emergencies, including easy-to-understand guidelines regarding legal constraints and practical tools for assessing the risk of inadvertent data disclosure.

The unit focuses on projects where access to data can improve decision making, program design, and equity in a community, while promoting transparency and trust. Our efforts are based on four main pillars:

• Improve data access through simplified processes and data-sharing guidelines.
• Build a culture of transparency and data sharing by developing and promoting risk-aware frameworks for data sharing, best practices for data democratization and collaborative analytics.
• Adopt a service design approach that embeds co-design with external partners as a principle and is focused on the rapid development and delivery of data products.
• Enhance understanding by plain talking data in a way non-scientists can understand. A study published by JAMA found that COVID-19-related language used by state-level agencies was often too complex, leading to misinformation and misinterpretation.

The unit will work closely with internal partners, local health jurisdictions, Tribal partners, community groups, Open Data programs, government analytics groups, and academic partners to enable people outside the agency greater access DOH data. Look for additional information in the coming months.

Please contact Data Democratization Manager Francoise Pickart with any questions.

For an overview of DOH’s data modernization plan visit Data Modernization Initiative Project Planning  | Washington State Department of Health. Have questions about the Data Modernization Initiative? Contact us at DataModFeedback@doh.wa.gov.