Data Visualization in Environmental Public Health: From Data to Insight
PRACTICAL EXERCISES AND RESOURCES Data visualization skills improve through practice, experience, and feedback. EPH professionals do not need to start with complex dashboards or advanced analytics. A simple starting point is to take a familiar dataset, identify the question it should answer, and experiment with different ways of presenting the information. Mini Exercise: Visualizing Inspection Data
Using the data from the table, create two different visualizations. First, consider the purpose of your visualization: What question are you trying to answer with the data? • Who is the intended audience? • What is the most important message you want to communicate? • What additional context (e.g., targets, prior-year data, benchmarks) might help the audience interpret the results? Choose the visualization that will communicate: 1. The number of inspections completed each month. 2. How the inspection pass rate changed over time. After creating the charts, consider the following questions: • What is the primary message of each visualization? • Which patterns are easier to identify visually than in the original table? • Who would benefit from each chart, and what decision might it support? • What additional context would the audience need to interpret the results accurately? • Would annotations, comparison targets, or prior- year data make the visualization more useful? As an optional extension, create a third visualization showing inspections requiring follow-up. Consider whether a line chart, bar chart, or combination chart would communicate the information most effectively. Examine how the number of follow-up inspections changes in relation to inspection volume and pass rates throughout the year.
Key Takeaways • Start with a question, not a chart. • Choose the simplest visualization that clearly communicates the message. • Design with the audience and decision in mind. • Focus on clarity, accuracy, and accessibility. • Improve through practice and feedback.
Learning Objective: Use the dataset to create multiple visualizations and compare how each one communicates different insights. The table below summarizes 1 year of inspection activity for a hypothetical EPH program. Enter the data into a spreadsheet or visualization tool. Confirm that each variable is in its own column, percentages are formatted correctly, and there are no missing or incorrect values. Good visualizations begin with well-organized, accurate data.
MONTH
INSPECTIONS COMPLETED
PASS RATE
INSPECTIONS REQUIRING FOLLOW-UP
January
315
94%
18
February
328
95%
17
March
348
93%
22
April
412
90%
35
May
468
87%
49
June
525
84%
68
July
558
81%
82
August
542
82%
78
September
476
86%
55
October
418
89%
39
November
372
92%
27
December
336
94%
20
28
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