• Do you want to better understand ways that the pandemic is impacting specific populations and localities across the commonwealth?
  • Do you want help identifying how to act on these data and get help to those who need it most?
  • Do you want to get this critical information to community partners who can do something about it?

Background

The MA Department of Public Health is partnering with three regional technical assistance (TA) providers, PHIWM being one, to support to municipalities, community-based organizations, and other community partners in accessing, analyzing, interpreting, and contextualizing critical health equity data from the COVID Community Impact Survey (CCIS) to inform their vaccine efforts, pandemic response, and recovery planning.  The goal of this effort is to provide data on specific geographies, populations, and topics to help us better understand where to most equitably and impactfully provide pandemic assistance and resources across the commonwealth. 

The COVID Community Impact Survey was conducted to better understand the immediate and long-term health needs facing the Commonwealth due to the pandemic, including social and economic consequences. Data is available on topics ranging from experiences with COVID-19 to basic needs, access to healthcare, pandemic-related changes in employment, mental health, substance use, discrimination, intimate partner violence, families, youth, and more.  Findings are also broken down by disability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, geography, income, education, age, industry/occupation, and more. A few examples of data collected in this survey include:

CCIS Mental Health WMA.png      CCIS Youth MH LGBTQDisabilities.png

CCIS Expenses.png      CCIS Substance Use Resources.png

What Services Can We Provide?

  • Share existing findings from the CCIS.
  • Fulfill customized data requests using the CCIS data, which may include regional/local estimates, population specific health equity analyses, and other analyses not already released on the CCIS website.
  • Help contextualize and interpret the CCIS data at local and regional levels.
  • Support community partners as they use the data to make recommendations and take actions.
  • Provide information and answer questions about the CCIS, including methodology of the survey, the sample of respondents, and data limitations.

Project Spotlight

The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts (WFWM) wanted a greater understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on women and non-binary people in Hampden County to support the Greater Springfield Women’s Economic Security Hub. As part of our technical assistance, we worked with WFWM to create an infographic using CCIS data about the pandemic’s economic impact.

Download the infographic.

How to Request Assistance for Western MA

The Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts will be providing technical assistance to the western MA region.  If you have questions or would like to access TA, email Kathleen Szegda, Director of Community Research and Evaluation at KSzegda@publichealthwm.org.

 

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