Focus Area: Data-Informed Decisions

Social Determinants of Health screen capture

Social Determinants of Health

As part of the Public Science Collaborative’s substance use work, PSC developed this dashboard to offer a visual tool for exploring how education, insurance, language, unemployment, and poverty influence health equity and substance use risks across Iowa communities, providing a better understanding of the environments that create and ameliorate the multifactorial risk factors of substance …

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Social Determinants of Health quick read

Social Determinants of Health: Quick Reads

As part of the Public Science Collaborative’s substance use work, PSC has created several maps for counties across Iowa to describe the social determinants of health. This quick read also provides context on what social determinants of health are and why mapping them is crucial. 

Iowa's Prescription Monitoring Program screen capture

Iowa’s Prescription Monitoring Program

As part of the Public Science Collaborative’s substance use work, PSC developed this dashboard to visualize prescription opioid sales across Iowa, using Morphine Milligram Equivalents (MME) to highlight volume trends by location and population size. The dashboard allows users to assess, for example, whether pharmacies are overly concentrated in urban places or if sale rates …

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The Substance Use Vulnerability Index quick read

The Substance Use Vulnerability Index: Quick Reads

As part of the Public Science Collaborative’s substance use work, this quick read covers PSC’s Substance Use Vulnerability (SUV) Index, a map illustrating the rates of risk for substance use across Iowa counties based off of demographic data. 

Local Alcohol Policies report cover

Local Alcohol Policies to Improve Community Health & Safety in Iowa

As part of Public Science Collaborative’s Alcohol Research Initiative, this report recommends data-informed local and state policies to improve Iowa’s community health and safety. When it comes to alcohol, Iowa is a high-consumption state, with one of the highest binge drinking rates in the country. That places Iowans and their communities at especially high risk …

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National Community Learning Network site screen capture

National Learning Community Network

The Public Science Collaborative collaborated with University of Virginia’s Biocomplexity Institute to develop the website, data tools, and underlying data to advance economic mobility via the Community Learning through Data Discovery process. This process is made up of community-based research where the community participates in asking and answering the questions that drive information gathering and …

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Enhancing the Substance Use Recovery Landscape report cover

Enhancing the Substance Use Recovery Landscape: Physical Activity and Access to Nature

Physical activity and access to nature play a vital role in supporting substance use recovery by improving mental health and reducing cravings. As part of the Public Science Collaborative’s Substance Use Recovery work, this research emphasizes the need for early involvement and strong community partnerships to enhance recovery outcomes.