Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
Who is this site intended for?
This site is intended for anyone interested in community health and community health data.
What is the purpose of this website?
To provide information to a variety of stakeholders so that they may work to improve the health and quality of life in their community. We hope that individuals look to this platform as a rich source of data and information about their community.
What is Healthy Calvert?
Healthy Calvert is a collaborative in Calvert County, MD that works to create an environment of health and wellbeing for our community.
What is Conduent Community Health Solutions?
The website is operated as a partnership with Conduent Community Health Solutions (aka Conduent Healthy Communities Institute). The Conduent Community Health Solutions mission is to improve the health and environmental sustainability of cities, counties and communities worldwide. To learn more visit https://www.conduent.com/community-population-health/.
How should I reference this website?
Recommended citation of website:
Conduent Healthy Communities Institute. (Date of publication, if available). Community Dashboard. Title of web site. Retrieved date. Retrieved from URL.
If referencing a specific data indicator:
Source or agency name. (Date/dates). Specific data source, if available (e.g. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2022). Web site name. Retrieve date. Retrieved from URL.
How can I reach someone to give feedback, ask questions, or share ideas?
Visit Contact Us to connect with Healthy Calvert staff.
Data Questions
What is an indicator?
An indicator describes an aspect of the population used to measure health or quality of life. Health indicators may include measurements of illness or disease, as well as behaviors and actions related to health.
Where does the data come from?
The data come from a variety of state and national sources, including the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control, the American Community Survey and many state-specific sources. Most of the data are reported on an annual basis. Each indicator page includes the source of the data and, if available, the URL of the source. A full list of indicators is available.
What is meant by comparison?
The types of available comparisons depend on the source and methodology of the data. If the data comes from a national source collected at the county level, your county’s value will typically be compared to a distribution of all U.S. counties or to a national average, as well as a distribution of your state's counties and your state's average value. If the data are collected at the state level, your county’s value will be compared to a distribution of all counties or county-equivalents in the state or compared to a state average or value. If the distribution or average data is not available, your county value will typically be compared to the Prior Value. Sometimes there will also be a Healthy People 2030 target for a comparison, when the definitions of the indicator align with those national goals.
What do the colored gauges mean?
Please visit this Help Center article for a description on the gauges and icons on the site.
A description of the gauges is also available in the LEGEND and can be viewed by clicking on “see the legend” on the left-hand side of all data pages.
How are data organized on the site?
All of the indicators are available from the Healthy Calvert Data Dashboards page. On this page, you can search for an indicator by topic under the “Search by Indicator” drop down, or you can search all indicators for a specific location under the “Search by Location” drop down.
How do I find data for a specific location?
To find data for a specific location, go to the Healthy Calvert Data Dashboards Page, then select your desired location from the search by location dropdown. The dashboard will populate with all of the indicators on the site for the selected location.
Why are some data not available for all locales?
Select data for some locales may not be displayed because they are unavailable, or because the rates are considered to be unstable. Unstable rates are unreliable due to small sample sizes.
Why can’t I view all indicators by zip code?
The data are presented by Healthy Communities Institute (HCI) and Healthy Calvert according to how they are collected and made publicly available. Zip code-level data are not available for many indicators featured on the site.
Why can’t I view all indicators by subgroup, like race/ethnicity, gender, age, or income?
The data are presented by Healthy Communities Institute and Healthy Calvert according to how they are collected and made publicly available. Subgroup-level data are not available for many indicators featured on the site.
What are age-adjusted rates?
Age-adjustment is a statistical process applied to rates of disease or death that allows communities with different age structures to be compared. This is important because most diseases and health outcomes occur at different rates in different age groups. For example, cancer is more commonly associated with older populations.
Why is there an equal sign icon when the prior value is different?
The comparison to a prior value shows an equal icon when the confidence intervals overlap. Not all indicators have confidence intervals, but when they are available, they are taken into consideration in determining if there has been a statistically significant change from the previous measurement period. Click here for additional information on confidence intervals and statistical significance.
How often are the data updated on this website?
Many of the indicators are updated on an annual basis (click here for more information) , although there are several indicators that are updated monthly. If you see something that is out of date, please let us know.
I have strong knowledge of other great data/data sources. Why aren't they included on this site?
Conduent HCI strives to provide high quality, publicly accessible data, available at the county level. Indicators on this site were chosen based on the following criteria:
- Publicly available data (at the county level)
- Strong likelihood that the indicator will be replicated again in the future
- Validity of data source (appropriate methodology)
- Corresponding Healthy People 2030 goals
Conduent HCI is always on the lookout for new, reliable data sources. If you would like to recommend data, send us Feedback. Sending your information to us does not guarantee that we will incorporate it on the website.
Site Features
Data Requests
You can make requests for specific data needs by contacting us directly.
Search for Data
You can explore data by keyword, indicator name or location. You can also find links to build a custom dashboard and to many of our speciality dashboards.
Indicator List by Location
This page shows a list of all of the indicators on the site and the level of data at which they are available. The list is organized by topic and shows if data are available at the county, region, zip code, or census tract level.
Disparities Dashboard
This tool allows you to view indicator breakout information such as age, gender, race/ethnicity. The disparities dashboard is organized by primary category (health, education, public safety) and then sub-categories (cancer, diabetes, school environment, crime).
Demographics Data
This section of the site offers demographic data on population, race, ethnicity, age, sex, households/income, housing, education and employment. The data are available at the regional, county and zip code levels. Information about Claritas Pop-Facts® Demographics and its methodology can be found on our Help Center.
Healthy People 2030 Tracker
Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. The 2030 Tracker compares your community’s health to the national objectives and whether or not your community has met the objectives or not. Learn More
Promising Practices
Promising Practices are best practices related to health or quality of life that have been found to be useful in improving the health of a community in some way. Healthy Communities Institute has identified a wealth of Promising Practices from around the country and internationally. They are a helpful way to identify strategies for making improvements in your community without reinventing the wheel. Conduent Healthy Communities Institute makes distinctions between practices that have been thoroughly and scientifically reviewed (Evidence Based) from those that have undergone less rigorous (Effective Practice), or perhaps no evaluation (Good Idea). See Ranking Methodology.
Report Tools
Report Builder: This tool can be used to create a customized report that will contain content from this site that you can either save or share with others based on keywords or topics of interest.
Health Equity Index
The Health Equity Index is a measure of social determinants correlated with preventable hospitalizations and premature death. Provides analytics around social determinants of health to advance equitable outcomes.
Food Insecurity Index
The Food Insecurity Index is a measure of food access correlated with economic and household hardship.
Mental Health Index
The Mental Health Index is a measure of social determinants of health factors correlated with self-reported poor mental health.
Support
How can I contribute content, such as local activities, health observances, partners, or resources to the site?
Visit our Contact Us page to contribute content.
How can I report a broken link or other technical issue?
Your Feedback is very important to us. Please let us know if you find any technical issues with this site.
What is your editorial policy?
You can find more information here.