Chicago’s 2020 public-health plan is data driven. The city is putting numbers behind 60 health outcomes it wants to improve, from raising life expectancy to reducing infant mortality, gun violence, obesity and even binge drinking. A 60-page report sets 82…
All posts by Stephen Rynkiewicz
Design Thinking Raises Patients’ Profile to Rehab Health Care Access
When Chicago technologists diagnose health issues, they turn their attention to how patients and practitioners make decisions. “It’s always important to understand the domain,” says ThoughtWorks user experience designer Bridget Sheerin. “The classic example is, you try not to build something for…
Healthy Chicago 2.0: Health Action Plan Marshals Community, Data to Target Root Causes
Chicago’s public health goals are shifting toward battling crime, tenement housing and other stubborn social concerns. Nearly a year of data-driven community discussions have led the city’s health professionals to look beyond their traditional roles treating infections, substance abuse and…
Health Advocates Weigh Data, Equity in Obesity Targets
Childhood obesity is a stubborn problem to reverse in communities starved for cash. In a new five-year plan, Chicago health advocates put a priority on targeting funds and tracking results. “We are not seeing significant improvement in disparities,” dietitian and…
Chicago Hospitals Win $8.75 Million to Launch Data Network
A data-sharing network of 10 Chicago hospitals could make medical research more reliable and less expensive. It’s a big-data project that keeps patients records locked up, but lets researchers search for trends. An $8.75 million grant will fund the three-year…
Community Health Workers Teach Asthma Patients to Breathe Easier
When an asthma patient showed her inhaler, Kimberly Artis was encouraged, at first. “She shook the medicine up and I’m thinking in my head, OK that’s good,” says Artis, a community health educator with Sinai Health System in Chicago. “The…
