Data Visualization in Environmental Public Health: From Data to Insight
Privacy and Disclosure Risk Visualizations should protect confidential and potentially identifiable information. In small jurisdictions or narrowly defined categories, even aggregated data can reveal individual establishments, households, people, or events. Maps can create additional risk when they show precise locations. Before sharing a visualization, review small values, rare characteristics, and detailed locations for privacy risks. Protective approaches include combining categories, using broader geographic areas or time periods, suppressing small values, removing precise locations, or limiting access. Follow applicable policies, laws, and data-use agreements. Audience-Centered Design The same dataset might need to be visualized differently depending on who will use the information. An EPH professional, a program manager, an agency director, an elected official, and a community member can all be interested in the same topic, but they often have different questions and decision-making responsibilities. Designing for the audience requires understanding what information is most relevant to them and what actions they take as a result. Technical audiences need greater detail and the ability to explore data interactively. Executive audiences often need concise summaries of performance, trends, and emerging issues. Public-facing visualizations typically benefit from simpler layouts and plain-language explanations. Successful visualization begins with understanding audience needs, not the software's capabilities. Accessibility As EPH professionals increasingly use dashboards, maps, charts, reports, and other digital tools to communicate data, accessibility becomes an essential workforce skill rather than simply a compliance consideration. This trend emphasizes building accessibility into data visualization and communication from the start so the widest possible audience can understand and use the information. Accessibility includes technical considerations such as readable fonts, sufficient color contrast, and colorblind-friendly palettes. It also includes communication considerations such as plain language, clear labeling, logical organization, and multilingual support where appropriate. Visualization has limited public health value if its intended audience cannot easily access, understand, or use the information it provides.
For state and local government agencies, accessibility is also an important compliance consideration. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide standards that can help agencies make digital information more accessible. EPH professionals should follow applicable accessibility requirements and their organization's policies when developing and publishing visualizations. Accessible Data Visualization: What EPH Professionals Should Know Tell the story in text. Summarize the key findings so users do not have to rely solely on the visual. Provide the information another way. For complex charts, maps, and graphics, consider an accessible table, spreadsheet, text description, or other alternative format. Do not rely on color alone. Use labels, patterns, shapes, symbols, or line styles to communicate meaning, and ensure sufficient color contrast. Make interactive content accessible. Dashboards, filters, controls, and other interactive elements should be usable without a mouse. Avoid placing important information only in hover features. Design for different devices and levels of magnification. Consider how the visualization works across screen sizes, orientations, and zoom levels. Provide multiple ways to access important information. Combining visualizations with text summaries, descriptions, data tables, or downloadable data can help more people understand and use the information. Accessibility References Bentle, K. (n.d.). How do EdTech products make data visualizations accessible for the April 2026 ADA deadline? Openfield. https://openfieldx.com/data-visualization-accessibility-tips- for-edtech/ Minnesota IT Services. (n.d.-a). Data visualization accessibility. State of Minnesota. https:// mn.gov/mnit/about-mnit/accessibility/data-visualization/ Minnesota IT Services. (n.d.-b). Data visualization and WCAG 2.1. State of Minnesota. https:// mn.gov/mnit/about-mnit/accessibility/training/wcag2.1/data-viz.jsp University of Wisconsin–Madison. (2026, July 7). Accessible complex images. Digital Accessibility @ UW–Madison. https://digitalaccessibility.wisc.edu/make-it-accessible/ complex-images/ World Wide Web Consortium. (2025, May 6). Web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. https://www.w3.org/TR/2025/REC-WCAG21-20250506/
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