Data & Epidemiology at CACTC

The CACTC Data & Epidemiology Team

 

The health and wellness of Cortland County residents is of great concern to community agencies, schools, parents, and community members. Accurate, accessible, and timely local data is of utmost importance when it comes to planning and implementing effective public health and prevention interventions in a community. 

 

The CACTC Data & Epidemiology Team utilizes local data to support and build efforts that drive population level outcomes in Cortland County. The data we collect and analyze is used by community coalitions and partners for strategic planning, strategy design, and evaluation of prevention, school based, and public health programs. CACTC’s data-driven approach identifies targeted populations and focus areas that help ensure we are providing programs and services to community members who need it most, all while saving valuable resources such as time and money. 

 

Our Team is available to meet with community coalitions and agencies within Cortland County to discuss how to incorporate a

data-driven process into agency program and intervention goals. We also offer consulting services for comprehensive needs assessments, data-driven strategic planning, evaluation planning, and data dashboard design. 

 

Recent Projects Include:

• Completing a compressive needs assessment and developing a data driven strategic plan for underage drinking prevention in Cortland County.

• Initiating the data collection and needs assessment process for the HEALing Cortland project aimed at reducing opioid overdose deaths. 

• Collaborating with SPEAK Up Cortland Suicide Prevention Coalition to collect local data related to suicide prevention, conduct a needs assessment, determine gaps in local data, and develop a data-driven strategic plan.  

• Developing an interactive data dashboard for Cortland County Youth Survey data. 

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CACTC Dashboards 

 

The dashboards created by CACTC’s Data & Epidemiology Team allow users to look at yearly trends and health and wellness indicators for specific populations in Cortland County. The dashboards can be utilized by organizations and agencies to drive prevention and public health interventions at the local level, using local data. CACTC’s Data & Epidemiology Team is available to meet with partners regarding how to utilize the dashboards for planning purposes.   

 

Cortland County Youth Survey Dashboard

 

Data Source: 

Since 2002, CACTC has surveyed 7th-12th grade students in Cortland County about substance use behaviors and risk and protective factors that predict adolescent problem behaviors using the validated survey tool: New York State PFS Youth Survey.

Since 2019, each school district in the county has participated in the survey with 1,800-2,000 students participating each year. Surveys are checked for validity and reliability prior to being included in the yearly sample received by CACTC. 

 

Tips for Using the Dashboard:

• Underneath the dashboard title “Cortland County Youth Survey Dashboard (2020)” there are tabs labelled with topic areas. Click these tabs to view data related to that topic.

• The lower left hand corner of each dashboard page has important definitions that will help viewers interpret the data. 

• Most pages included in this dashboard have drop downs or lists that allow users to select specific variables. 

• If you have questions, or require youth survey data that is not included in this dashboard, please contract Margaret Broderick at mthon@cortlandareactc.org