NORWALK HEALTH DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLBEING PROFILE
Publicly Available Dashboard to Inform Community Health Work, Collaboration

(NORWALK, Connecticut) – Today, December 20, the Norwalk Health Department launched its new Community Health and Wellbeing Profile, a publicly available online dashboard compiling and visualizing key Norwalk health data. The interactive profile is available at www.norwalkct.gov/healthdata.

The Health Department invites partners and residents to use the Profile to better understand Norwalk’s health needs and strengths, inform grant applications, spark conversation and collaboration, and guide community health improvement work.

“The Community Health and Wellbeing Profile is a 'living' hub tailored for our Norwalk residents, partners, non-profits, businesses, etc. and compiles Norwalk-centric health and wellbeing data/analyses to identify, characterize, and monitor trends within our community,” explained Brian Weeks, Program Director of Epidemiology and Informatics. “This is just the start we will continue to append and update this resource to maximize its utility for all interested over the coming months.”

In this first iteration, the Community Health and Wellbeing Profile includes three informative data sources: the DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey and Index, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)/PLACES, and the CDC/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Details about these valuable data sources can be found on the dashboard.

This Norwalk-specific health information can be broken down and viewed in different ways. For example, Community Wellbeing Survey data is presented with details about demographic characteristics such as age, race/ethnicity, income level, education, and other categories. BRFSS and SVI data are available at the neighborhood level, mapping different health measures and social factors at each of the 22 Norwalk neighborhoods.

In addition, the Profile page includes links to other data sources and reports from Nuvance/Norwalk Hospital, DataHaven, and others. The page also includes links to resources for community services through 211 and the Norwalk Community Resource Hub. The Health Department is grateful to these community partners for the valuable information and services they provide to the community.

“This Profile and so much of the work of the Epidemiology and Informatics Division helps us ensure our work is driven by data,” explained Deanna D’Amore, MPH, Director of Health. “We’re excited to share this work with our partners and community, so we can work together to improve community health and address health equity.”

About the Norwalk Department of Health: With valuable guidance from its six-member Board of Health, the Norwalk Health Department provides a variety of services and programs to fulfill its mission: to prevent and control the spread of disease, promote a healthy environment, and protect the quality of life within its changing community. The Health Department achieved initial accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) in June 2014 and reaccreditation in March 2022, demonstrating that it meets or exceeds national public health standards and commits to continuously improve the quality of the services it delivers. More information is available at www.norwalkhealth.com.