Understanding childhood experiences, both positive and negative, is important to inform public health policies and prevention strategies directed to children and youth. While data related to childhood experiences exists in various data sources, our goal was to create the first data platform in Connecticut to synthesize these data sources in a user friendly way, through the use of effective visualizations and interactive dashboards.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood that may increase the risk for mental health problems, chronic illnesses, health-risk behaviors, and adverse social outcomes later in life, while positive childhood experiences (PCEs) are factors that have been found to promote healthy child development and well-being. These factors can also buffer against the effects of ACEs.

The underlying mechanism connecting ACEs and negative health outcomes is the toxic stress resulting from prolonged or extreme exposure to abuse and other challenges at home or in the community. In Connecticut, we are interested in preventing ACEs and promoting factors that can protect against adverse health outcomes.

With funding from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention as part of the Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: Data to Action grant, we partnered with several organizations and workgroups to disseminate data around ACEs and PCEs in an easy-to-digest data platform.

Finding The Right Data

In order to build out a useful and reliable data platform, we needed to determine the best data sources to use. The Department of Public Health Sciences and the Center for Prevention Evaluation and Statistics (CPES) at UConn Health identified three data sources:

Youth Risk Behavioral Survey (YRBS): includes 15 ACE indicators that measures child abuse, child neglect, household challenges such as exposure to domestic violence, growing up with a parent with substance use or mental health problems, and parent incarceration. The YRBS also measures school and community violence experiences, bullying, and teen dating violence.
National Survey on Children’s Health (NSCH): contains 10 ACE indicators related to household and community challenges. Parents or caregivers respond to this survey every year. In Connecticut, an average of 500 parents respond to the NSCH questions about one of their children every year.
Connecticut 211: we used data from the 211 system, which is managed by United Way, as near-real-time data to monitor indicators of ACEs. This data also helps us to see geographically specific information and trends of selected ACE indicators. The 211 data we used reflect only the number of calls made about minors and adults with children (0-17 years old) who are in need of services.

Building Out the Data Platform

Using the YRBS, NSCH, and CT 211 as our data sources, our next goal was to determine the best way to present the data to ensure that the data platform was accessible to everyone. After experimenting with different technologies (Python, Javascript, Tableau), we decided that Tableau would be our best option. We also supplemented the Tableau dashboards with Canva, Adobe Illustrator, and Datawrapper to create a well-rounded data platform consisting of interactive visualizations, static visualizations, and downloadable infographics.

Here are examples of different forms of visualizations using various technologies.

Canva (left) and Datawrapper (right)

Tableau

Adobe Illustrator

Impact

The PACE Data Platform has been shared with numerous state agencies, non-profits, data users, and other organizations across Connecticut and we have received great feedback since release, with a highlight from the CDC in a report release. The data platform has once again emphasized the importance of using data and data visualization to inform decision-making.

For More Information

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Case Study: Building a Data Platform to Explore Childhood Experiences in Connecticut