Using the Public Health Information Tool

Author: Kelly Danckert

Data can be intimidating for those of us who aren’t epidemiologists and biostatisticians, which is why we partnered with the PHIT specialists and epidemiologist to bring you this demonstration of not just how to access the health data of Massachusetts, but how to interpret it. What is a confidence interval? What does it mean if a data point for my community is statistically significant? 

The Public Health Information Tool (PHIT) enables anyone to view community-specific health data framed by six Social Determinants of Health: Built Environment, Education, Employment, Housing, Social Environment and Violence. This information can help communities identify and address upstream contributors to poor health. Furthermore, they have “inequity alerts” in these reports that illustrate health inequities at work. 

PHIT enables us to look upstream at the public health issues plaguing our communities, and helps us use a data-driven approach to tackle them. 

If you have any questions about PHIT, feel free to email [email protected]