Chase Reece, BSHP '24

Today, I began collecting health data that focused on heart disease and diabetes for all of our Archway and CRC communities. The data for heart disease was separated by ischemic heart and vascular disease and hypertensive heart disease. This is an important distinction to make because both types have different causes and can stem from various factors. The data was obtained from OASIS, or the Online Analytical Statistical Information System. This system is managed by the Georgia Department of Public Health and contains useful information that is regularly updated, such as community health needs assessments, leading causes of death, mortality and morbidity, and behavioral surveys. The information is broken down by county and be further broken down by census tracts or demographic factors. The data that was collected included the overall cause of death rankings, total deaths from each, and the comparison of the county average to the state average. This comparison gives insight into how a specific county is performing compared to the state as a whole, and it can be a helpful indication of potential areas that need to be addressed if the county average is much below the state average. Overall, this info will serve as a helpful starting point to identify communities most heavily impacted by these health issues.