Public Maternal Health Dashboards in the United States: Descriptive Assessment

Abstract

Background: Data dashboards have become more widely used for the public communication of health-related data, including in maternal health. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the content and features of existing publicly available maternal health dashboards in the United States. Methods: Through systematic searches, we identified 80 publicly available, interactive dashboards presenting US maternal health data. We abstracted and descriptively analyzed the technical features and content of identified dashboards across four areas: (1) scope and origins, (2) technical capabilities, (3) data sources and indicators, and (4) disaggregation capabilities. Where present, we abstracted and qualitatively analyzed dashboard text describing the purpose and intended audience. Results: Most reviewed dashboards reported state-level data (58/80, 72%) and were hosted on a state health department website (48/80, 60%). Most dashboards reported data from only 1 (33/80, 41%) or 2 (23/80, 29%) data sources. Key indicators, such as the maternal mortality rate (10/80, 12%) and severe maternal morbidity rate (12/80, 15%), were absent from most dashboards. Included dashboards used a range of data visualizations, and most allowed some disaggregation by time (65/80, 81%), geography (65/80, 81%), and race or ethnicity (55/80, 69%). Among dashboards that identified their audience (30/80, 38%), legislators or policy makers and public health agencies or organizations were the most common audiences. Conclusions: While maternal health dashboards have proliferated, their designs and features are not standard. This assessment of maternal health dashboards in the United States found substantial variation among dashboards, including inconsistent data sources, health indicators, and disaggregation capabilities. Opportunities to strengthen dashboards include integrating a greater number of data sources, increasing disaggregation capabilities, and considering end-user needs in dashboard design.