Communicating public health data clearly: lessons from COVID-19

Effectively communicating data to a broad range of audiences plays an important role in public health. The COVID-19 pandemic showed how in times of public health crises, people seek out data. Because of this emerging broad interest in public health data, the accessibility and usability of data visualizations and data communication products are critical to reaching not only public health professionals but others, too. At the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, we've worked to make public health data comprehensible and actionable through an approach that features user-centered design, and incorporates health literacy principles. Key strategies include conducting research with users to understand their needs, ensuring usability in web-based products, and designing data visualization products to be easily understood by both experts and general audience. Explanatory data products, which highlight key insights, play a crucial role in making data accessible. As public health crises continue to demand clear and transparent information sharing, we advocate for a sustained commitment to user-centered design in public health data communication, ensuring that data is not only available but also truly accessible and useful to the public.