Community Wellness Packet.pdfDataHaven prides itself in empowering people to create thriving communities by collecting and ensuring access to data on well-being, equity, and quality of life. The classroom is a fundamental and formative space where understanding of social justice, human rights, equity, and community well-being is fostered. Educators serve a pivotal role in empowering and informing youth, encouraging their voices and giving them the proper tools to enact change in their communities.
From time to time, DataHaven has released a series of classroom materials designed by educators for educators. Through classroom experiences and the learning process, students can understand and change their world in ways that benefit themselves and their communities.
Contents
In addition to these easy-to-use materials, we encourage you to use the other reports and data on the DataHaven website in your classroom activities. DataHaven resources are widely used by teachers in K-12 schools, colleges, and graduate program across Connecticut. Please contact us for suggestions!
DataHaven 2023 Classroom Materials
Authored By: Sarah Wiederecht, with support from Dylan Bober, Victor Cazabal, and Emilie Waters. Sarah Wiederecht is a social studies teacher in Manchester, Connecticut.
The 2023 Classroom Materials and Resources have eight overarching themes (community wellness, democracy, education, gender equality, health, immigration, intersectionality, and race). They are organized into packets to make them easier to distribute and use. Each packet is approximately 10-15 pages, and may contain readings for different grade levels (described as Levels I, II, and/or III), as well as suggested classroom exercises and activities. Materials in the packets are drawn from DataHaven’s 2023 Community Wellbeing Index and other reports.
We encourage your feedback and suggestions. Please see below for more information.
DataHaven 2020 Classroom Materials
Authored By: Sarah Wiederecht, Chloe Shawah, and John Park. Sarah Wiederecht is a social studies teacher in Manchester, Connecticut.
These materials utilize DataHaven’s work, especially the Community Index publications, and focus on four overarching themes:
Gender
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of gender. | |
| This provides an idea of where students stand with their understanding of gender roles. It can be used to further explain what needs to be revisited. | |
| This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of gender roles. | |
| By looking at Community Wellbeing Survey data, students practice how to read data and consider the real life implications of the data. | |
| This assignment asks students to define key words in an excerpt from Count Her In (2019) and fosters deeper understanding of gender based disparities in education. | |
| This provides background on the wage gap, specific to Connecticut. It can be followed up with the data collection assignment. | |
| These stations involve passages on the gender wage gap as well as data figures. | |
| To investigate the gender wage gap in their own communities, students practice real life data collection and interpretation. | |
| This is a reflection concluding the classwork series on the gender wage gap. |
Race
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of race. | |
| This provides an idea of where students stand with their understanding of race. It can be used to further explain what needs to be revisited. | |
| This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of racial stereotypes. | |
| Students read a passage introducing the history and effects of redlning and answer thought questions. | |
| The above assignment is broken into separate stations. | |
| Using what they learned about redlining, students propose and create a PSA (rubric included). | |
| Students read a background passage, and then are tasked with researching an example of environmental racism on their own. | |
| Students read and analyze data from the 2019 Community Wellbeing Index and answer thought questions. | |
| Students read a background passage on social mobility and answer thought questions. |
Health
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of healthcare. | |
| This provides an idea of where students stand with their understanding of healthcare. It can be used to further explain what needs to be revisited. | |
| Students read a background passage on the opioid epidemic, draw a graph based on the data in the reading, and answer thought questions. | |
| This is a longer version of the above assignemnt. It includes specific data points from the Community Wellbeing Index reports. | |
| The opioid crisis assignment is broken into separate stations. | |
| Using what they learned about the opioid crisis, students propose and create a PSA (rubric included). | |
| Students read a passage and answer thought questions about asthma, a persistent component of health inequality in Connecticut. | |
| Students read a passage about healthcare inequalities for LGBTQ+ individuals and draw a graph using the data they read. | |
| This includes excerpts from our Health Equity Report. | |
| “Think Pair Share” activities allow students to learn about a topic, interact with a peer to learn about their chosen topic, and then sharing their two chosen topics to the class. | |
| After defining key words, students read and reflect on an excerpt from our Health Equity Report. |
Civics
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of voting. | |
| Students read a passage and graph on elections and election turnout. | |
| Students read four primary sources and a Pew Research Center article to understand the history and importance of voting. | |
| Students explore the US Census website to learn more about the importance of the Census. | |
| Students read about the five generations since 1925 in Part I. In Part II, a Pew Research Center articles dives deeper into generational divides. | |
| This includes an excerpt from Count Her In (2019). | |
| DataHaven’s Connecticut Wellbeing and Equity Data App contains visualizations of a wide variety of data. Students are guided through exploring this app. | |
| Through reading from the 2019 Greater Hartford Community Wellbeing Index and the Hartford Climate Action Plan, students learn about local, contemporary efforts to address climate change. | |
| Students learn about the history of immigration and the current state of New Haven’s population. | |
| Students research a cultural organization in New Haven of their own choosing. | |
| This includes an excerpt from the 2019 Community Wellbeing Index and corresponding thought questions. | |
| This assignment introduces students to the data collection and analysis process. They choose a topic of their own to research. | |
| First students read about three key components of civic life. Then, they are tasked with conducting research in their own community. |
Feedback and suggestions
Used one of the above resources? Questions, comments, concerns? Email us at info [at] ctdatahaven.org with a description of your teaching approach and needs. Many additional resources on the DataHaven website are commonly used in classroom settings and we encourage you to browse or contact us for assistance.
Often, we receive general questions about collecing and using data to advance racial equity. The resources listed here are intended to provide guidance in this area.
1. Racial Equity Tools. Visit: https://www.racialequitytools.org/home. Racial Equity Tools is designed to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity. This site offers more than 2,500 different tools, research, tips, curricula and ideas for systems, organizations, and communities.
2. W.K. Kellogg Foundation Resources. https://www.wkkf.org/resources/
3. Counting a Diverse Nation (PolicyLink). This is a 2018 report written by PolicyLink through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It articulates the importance of data disaggregation and explains methods for collecting and analyzing data on race and ethnicity.
4. Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research (Annual Review of Public Health). Visit: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750. This 2019 article provides an overview of structural racism, cultural racism, and individual-level racism. Recommendations for future research and a discussion on interventions to address racial inequity are also included.
5. National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership online guide to Resources for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (Urban Institute). https://www.neighborhoodindicators.org/library/guides/resources-diversity-equity-and-inclusion. Efforts are categorized into two areas: 1) Promoting DEI practices within Partner organizations, including hiring, retention, and assembling advisory or governing boards and 2) Highlighting how Partners’ products and services can further DEI in their communities. In 2019, a set of resources were compiled to help Partners center DEI in their internal processes and external products; while tailored for NNIP members like DataHaven, the resources would also be relevant for other research organizations.
DataHaven Resources
Some of our most popular resources for health and environmental data include:
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DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey – surveys of over 35,000 randomly-selected adults throughout CT; questions related to public health, social determinants of health, and health care access provide local-level data about Connecticut communities that are not available from any other source.
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Greater New Haven Community Index, Greater Hartford Community Wellbeing Index, Fairfield County Community Wellbeing Index – and other data reports that DataHaven has published in recent years. These can be found in the Reports section of the DataHaven website, and several of them also serve as Community Health Needs Assessments for hospitals located throughout Connecticut.
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DataHaven Community and Neighborhood Profiles – by area, town and neighborhood. Please contact us if you can’t find the profile you need.
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DataHaven Connecticut Town Equity Reports – more detailed reports and maps for all 169 towns in Connecticut, focusing on local differences in equity and well-being.
COVID-19 data in Connecticut
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Our trusted sources of COVID-19 information page provides an overview.
Some of our favorite outside sources of health and environmental data
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Datasets available from CMS and other Federal agencies. Charles Ornstein at ProPublica maintains a guide, a copy of which (as of December 2016) is posted here: http://ctdatahaven.org/data-resources/new-ecosystem-health-data-keeps-getting-bigger-tipsheet-public-health-datasets
- County Health Rankings: http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/ The County Health Rankings are a key component of the Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health (MATCH) project. MATCH is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The web site provides access to the 50 state reports, ranking each county within the 50 states according to its health outcomes and the multiple health factors that determine a county’s health. Each county receives a summary rank for its health outcomes and health factors and also for the four different types of health factors: health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and the physical environment. Each county can also drill down to see specific county-level data (as well as state benchmarks) for the measures upon which the rankings are based.
- CT Department of Public Health: Vital Statistics Reports https://portal.ct.gov/dph/health-information-systems–reporting/hisrhome…. The Office of Vital Records at the Connecticut Department of Public Health maintains a statewide registry of births, marriages, civil unions, deaths and fetal deaths which have occurred in CT or to CT residents. Vital Records databases are analyzed annually to create statistical reports, known as Registration Reports, for births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, and divorces.
- Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index https://news.gallup.com/topic/well_being_index.aspx. Explore results by U.S. metropolitan area for overall wellbeing by five elements: career, social, financial, community, and physical based on 2017, 2018 Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index data.
- National Vital Statistics Reports (National Center for Health Statistics, CDC) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/nvsr.htm. Tables of vital statistics by state and population groups, including preliminary data on births.
- Report: Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Low Birthweight for Connecticut (CTDPH Health Disparities Workgroup, 2008) Report on the infant health disparity between minority groups and non-Hispanic Whites. Recommends improved services plus development of measures for addressing psychosocial factors in women’s lives.
- CT Department of Public Health: Connecticut Health Disparities Report (2009). Detailed data compendium that describes health disparities within the State.
- Kids Count, at http://datacenter.kidscount.org/, is a data tool of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It maintains an extensive list of indicators related to demographic, economic, education, health, and community well-being of children. Users can also download publications on various topics related to childhood.
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Connecticut Voices for Children publishes many reports on early childcare, education, and child health and wellbeing, at http://www.ctvoices.org. Use the filters to browse reports by issue area, contributor, or publication date.
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Data dot Census dot gov, at https://data.census.gov/ is an online portal to selected U.S. Census Bureau data sets, including those on school enrollment by age, educational attainment, private school enrollment, and other education topics. Please contact DataHaven if you have trouble finding what you need on this expansive site.
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State of Connecticut Open Data: https://data.ct.gov/, has hosted data on topics related to health and human services, like drug related deaths, medical marijuana registry, and SNAP retailers. These may change over time.
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CDC’s BRFSS (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) Prevalence and Trends Tool https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/brfssprevalence/. Access state-level data on behavioral risk factors, including alcohol consumption, health-care access, women’s health. Reports for Connecticut can be accessed at https://portal.ct.gov/dph/Health-Information-Systems–Reporting/Hisrhome/Connecticut-Behavioral-Risk-Factor-Surveillance-System-CT-BRFSS.
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CDC’s Oral Health Data website contains data from Water Fluoridation Reporting System Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), State Oral Health Surveys, Indian Health Service (IHS) Oral Health Surveys and ASTDD’s Annual Synopsis of State Oral Health Programs. https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealthdata/index.html.
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Connecticut Department of Public Health’s Statistics and Research page https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Communications/Services–Programs/Statistics-and-Research contains data on chronic disease, environmental health, health care equity, health information systems, infectious diseases, maternal & child health, and tumor registry.
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U.S. Small-area Life Expectancy Estimates Project – USALEEP. “The USALEEP project produced estimates of life expectancy at birth—the average number of years a person can expect to live—for most of the census tracts in the United States for the period 2010-2015.” Download data files at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/usaleep/usaleep.html. Analyses also contained within the 2019 DataHaven Community Index reports.
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500 Cities data (now known as CDC PLACES). “The 500 Cities project is a collaboration between CDC, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the CDC Foundation. The purpose of the 500 Cities Project is to provide city- and census tract-level small area estimates for chronic disease risk factors, health outcomes, and clinical preventive service use for the largest 500 cities in the United States. These small area estimates will allow cities and local health departments to better understand the burden and geographic distribution of health-related variables in their jurisdictions, and assist them in planning public health interventions.” https://www.cdc.gov/places/index.html. Analysis also available through a DataHaven report.
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Environmental Protection Agency EnviroAtlas. “EnviroAtlas has 300+ national data layers that cover the contiguous US and an additional 100 community layers for 30 featured community areas. National data layers are frequently based on 30-meter resolution data, while community scale data are derived from 1-meter resolution land cover data for local planning and decision-making.” Currently, within Connecticut, local data are available for the New Haven region. See https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-05/documents/newhavenct.pdf for a factsheet. An interactive map is also available at https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/enviroatlas/interactivemap/.
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Connecticut Environmental Justice Mapping Tool (2023, Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation): “The CT EJ Mapping Tool is an environmental justice mapping and screening tool that utilizes GIS data and information to create a wide and consistent dataset that combines environmental, health, socioeconomic and demographic indicators through our maps and reports. This information and the map can provide detailed information on the daily issues and problems that communities face and can lead policymakers and community leaders to address these issues better.” https://connecticut.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=5adac07c27db40bbabc193af58634e5a
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CJEST – Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool (2022, U.S. Council on Environmental Quality) “The tool has an interactive map and uses datasets that are indicators of burdens in eight categories: climate change, energy, health, housing, legacy pollution, transportation, water and wastewater, and workforce development. The tool uses this information to identify communities that are experiencing these burdens.” https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/
View additional data sources, including maps and links to external sources, on our Data Resources page. Or contact us to suggest other sources we should feature.
Transportation is a social determinant that can play a major role in influencing people’s health and sense of well-being. Access to adequate transportation options can increase physical activity, reduce streets and help increase family economic security.
Additional resources will be posted here. Please contact DataHaven to get involved in building this document, or if you’d like to add a resource here.
Resources: General
1. CDC Recommendations for Improving Health through Transportation Policy (2010): http://www.cdc.gov/transportation/docs/FINAL%20CDC%20Transportation%20Recommendations-4-28-2010.pdf
2. Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity (2009): http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12674&page=75 Offers specific guidelines and research studies that support these health policy recommendations.
3. Incorporating Health Objectives into Transit Planning. (Todd Litman of VTPI, 2010): http://www.planetizen.com/node/45855
4. Housing and Transportation Affordability Index. Americans traditionally consider housing affordable if it costs 30 percent or less of their income. The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, in contrast, offers the true cost of housing based on its location by measuring the transportation costs associated with place. http://htaindex.cnt.org/
5. Upstream Public Health Transportation Health Equity Principles
Resources: Cycling and Walking
1. NYC Department of Transportation Says New Brooklyn Bike Lane Dramatically Reduces Speeding, Sidewalk Bicycling: http://transportationnation.org/2010/10/21/nyc-dot-says-brooklyn-bike-lane-dramatically-reduces-speeding-sidewalk-bicycling/ A city DOT spokesperson said today that preliminary data shows that BEFORE the bike lane, three out of four cars on Prospect Park West were speeding. The agency says that number has dropped to one in seven. And the DOT says almost half of all cyclists used to ride on the sidewalk. That number has decreased to four percent.
2. Alliance for Biking and Walking Benchmarking Report project: http://www.peoplepoweredmovement.org/site/index.php/site/memberservices/C529 The U.S. Bicycling and Walking Benchmarking Project is an on-going effort from the Alliance for Biking & Walking to collect and analyze data on bicycling and walking in all 50 states and at least the 50 most-populated U.S. cities.
Resources: Mass Transit and Health
1. Why Public Transportation is Good for Kids (Grist, 11/1/10) http://www.grist.org/article/2010-11-01-why-public-transportation-is-good-for-kids