Roundtable on community engagement in data decision-making

A Roundtable Discussion was recently held to discuss the importance of community voice in developing 21st century public health systems. Expert panelists emphasized the need to redefine measures, foster new ideas, and work to ensure that historically excluded populations are represented in the data collection process. The Roundtable transcript is now published in the peer-reviewed journal Big Data. Click here to read the transcript.

The discussion was moderated by Michael Crawford, Associate Dean for Strategy, Outreach, and Innovation at Howard University College of Medicine, and Commissioner on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems.

The expert panelists include Francisca Flores, from the Gulf Research Program at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Amy Hawn Nelson, from the University of Pennsylvania’s Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy; and Marynia Kolak, from US Covid Atlas

The participants highlight their efforts to build data capacity in under-resourced communities and enhance community involvement in shaping equitable data systems. They also reflect on the importance of authentic community engagement in data decision-making, targeting community-relevant interventions, and measuring progress, which is necessary to pave the way for a healthy and more equitable future for all.

Big Data Editor-in-Chief Zoran Obradovic, PhD, Carnell Professor of Data Analytics, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, states: “This roundtable will discuss success stories in various domains and lessons learned when addressing some of challenges related to facilitating the community engagement in data decision-making. We invite the Big Data community to share their experience on this high impact objective from big data perspectives.”

About the Journal
Big Data, published bi-monthly online with open access options and in print, facilitates and supports the efforts of researchers, analysts, statisticians, business leaders, and policymakers to improve operations, profitability, and communications within their organizations. Spanning a broad array of disciplines focusing on novel big data technologies, policies, and innovations, the peer-reviewed journal brings together the community to address the challenges and discover new breakthroughs and trends living within this information. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Big Data website.

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a global media company dedicated to creating, curating, and delivering impactful peer-reviewed research and authoritative content services to advance the fields of biotechnology and the life sciences, specialized clinical medicine, and public health and policy. For complete information, please visit the  Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.