Public Health Data Website Now in Spanish
| LITTLE ROCK – A Spanish version of a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) website providing easy access to valuable public health statistics and research specific to all 75 Arkansas counties is now available.
The driving force behind the Public Health in Arkansas Community Search (PHACS) site is to rein in the abundance of available public health-related information and present it in an easy-to-use way to all Arkansans. The English version began in fall 2010 at www.uams.edu/phacs. The Spanish version can be found there by clicking “en Español” at the top of the home page or by going directly to www.uams.edu/phacs/espanol.
“The site is a one-stop source for Arkansans looking for community specific health data,” said Jim Raczynski, Ph.D., dean of the UAMS College of Public Health. “The website is designed primarily for community-based organizations and ordinary Arkansans who want to find health data that will help them take charge of health outcomes and risks in their communities. It’s an important step for us to now offer this to Spanish-speaking Arkansans.”
Edgardo Briones Velázquez, Consul at the Consulate of Mexico in Little Rock, said the new site gives the growing Spanish-speaking population in Arkansas another outlet to take charge of their health.
“We support all efforts that affect the well-being of Mexicans residing in Arkansas and this is an important addition,” Briones said. “Access to public health information such as addressing health disparities in minority populations is important and provides Mexicans in Arkansas another opportunity to be stakeholders of their own well-being.”
The website also holds a variety of information for researchers and policy-makers looking to make a case for issues and opportunities in their communities that are critical to promoting public health within the state.
The site is simple to use and offers a wide variety of health indicators and categories to choose. While the site is continually being expanded, some of the initial categories and health indicators include:
• Demographics: includes data such as population by race and age
• Social Environment: includes data such as income, unemployment and education
• Access to Health Care: includes factors such as number of doctors, dentists and hospitals in each county
• Behavior Risks: includes risk factor information such as number of smokers, binge drinking and teen drug use
• Preventive Care and Screenings: includes information about preventive care such as pap tests and mammograms
• Health Outcomes and Mortality: includes mortality rates and information about individuals with diabetes and heart disease
“The site is continually evolving and developing ways to present greater amounts of information in even more useful ways,” said Martha Phillips, assistant professor in the departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology at UAMS. “This is a clearinghouse of public health data that can be of value to all Spanish-speaking Arkansans and their communities.”
The website is being developed in partnership with the Arkansas Center for Health Disparities, the Arkansas Prevention Research Center, the Arkansas Center for Clinical and Translational Research and the Arkansas Minority Health Commission.
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,836 students and 761 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.