The only data visualization book written by and for health and healthcare professionals.In health and healthcare, data and information are coming at organizations faster than they can consume and interpret it. Health providers, payers, public health departments, researchers, and health information technology groups know the ability to analyze and communicate this vast array of data in a clear and compelling manner is paramount to success. However, they simply cannot find experienced people with the necessary qualifications. The quickest (and often the only) route to meeting this challenge is to hire smart people and train them.Visualizing Health and Healthcare Data: Creating Clear and Compelling Visualizations to "See how You're Doing" is a one-of-a-kind book for health and healthcare professionals to learn the best practices of data visualization specific to their field. It provides a high-level summary of health and healthcare data, an overview of relevant visual intelligence research, strategies and techniques to gather requirements, and how to build strong teams with the expertise required to create dashboards and reports that people love to use. Clear and detailed explanations of data visualization best practices will help you understand the how and the why.* Learn how to build beautiful and useful data products that deliver powerful insights for the end user* Follow along with examples of data visualization best practices, including table and graph design for health and healthcare data* Learn the difference between dashboards, reports, multidimensional exploratory displays and infographics (and why it matters)* Avoid common mistakes in data visualization by learning why they do not work and better ways to display the dataWritten by a top leader in the field of health and healthcare data visualization, this book is an excellent resource for top management in healthcare, as well as entry-level to experienced data analysts in any health-related organization.

Preface xiiiSection I Establishing a Framework and Process 1Chapter 1 Health and Healthcare Data Visualizations of Historical Importance 3Chapter 2 Stop Hunting Unicorns and Start Building Teams and Know The Data 9Search for Characteristics and Core Competencies 10Get to Know the Data 11Classifications, Intent, Purpose, and Lineage 12Two Types of Data 14Qualitative/Categorical Data 14Quantitative/Numerical Data 14Scales/Levels of Measure 15Nominal 15Ordinal 16Interval 17Ratio 18Summary 19Chapter 3 Requirements-Gathering and Design Methods 21Design Thinking Foundational Concepts 22Design Methods 23Contextual Inquiry 23Mental Models 24Personas 26Persona Creation Guide 27Graphic Organizers 29Guided Analytics Framework 29Summary Overview Dashboard 30Supporting Focused Reports 30Details 31Multidimensional Exploratory Displays (MEDs(TM)) 31Sketching 32Prototyping 33Testing 34Summary 36Section II Perceiving the Best Practices of Data Visualization 37Chapter 4 The Research 39Research Informs Data Visualization Best Practices 39Preattentive Attributes 41Preattentive Attributes at Work 43Gestalt Principles 46Color Theory 48The Power of White Space 53Where People Look 54Summary 54Chapter 5 Table Design Checklist 55Fundamentals of Table Design 55Organization/Categorization 55Non-Data Ink 56Fonts 56Number Alignment and Formatting 56Labels 58Summary 58Chapter 6 Powerful Visualizations in Four Shapes 59Bars, Lines, Points, and Boxes 59Shape One: Bars 61Bar Basics 61Using Bars To: See How You're Doing 63Distributions 63Histograms 63Population Pyramid (Paired Bars) 65Ranking 67Change over Time 68Comparing Multiple Data Points 70Proportions | Part-to-Whole 71Challenging the 100% Myth 73Deviation (Difference, Variation) 73Ranges and Comparative Values 74Displaying the Vital Few: Pareto Charts 77Bars Are Not Boring 78Shape Two: Lines 79Line Basics 79Using Lines To: See How You're Doing 83As a Reference | Comparison 83Change over Time 84Change over Time | Sparklines 86Change over Time | Deviation Graphs 87Distributions 88Distributions | The Empirical Rule and Control Charts 88Statistical Process Control Charts (SPCs) and Geometric (G) Charts 90Relationships | Correlations 91Shape Three: Points 92Point Basics 92Using Points To: See How You're Doing 94Distributions 94Revealing Details 95Change over Time 96Correlation 96Hierarchy Quadrant 97Location Details 98Shape Four: Boxes 98Box Basics 99Using Boxes To: See How You're Doing 99Distribution 99Multiple Values 100Change over Time and Utilization Rates 101Hierarchical Data 101Other Shapes 102Summary 103Chapter 7 Maps 105Using Maps to Gain Insights 105Geographic Maps 105Choropleth Maps 106Hex-Tile Maps 109Symbol/Dot-Density Maps 110Proportional Symbol Maps 112When Not to Use a Map 113Summary 114Chapter 8 Graphs and Charts to Never Use or Use with Caution 115When "Cool Displays" Are Anything But 115Pie and Donut Charts 117Why People Use Them 117Characteristics 118Challenges 118Best Practice Alternative 119Multiples of Several-Part Stacked Bar Charts (MSPSBCs) 121Why People Use Them 121Characteristics 121Challenges 121Best Practice Alternative 124Bubble Charts 124Why People Use Them 124Characteristics 125Challenges 125Best Practice Alternative 126Treemaps 128Why People Use Them 128Characteristics 129Challenges 129Best Practice Alternative 130Marimekko (Mekko or Mosaic) Charts 132Why People Use Them 132Characteristics 132Challenges 134Best Practice Alternative 134Radial Bar and Petal Charts 134Why People Use Them 134Characteristics 135Challenges 135Best Practice Alternative 136Radar Charts 138Why People Use Them 138Characteristics 138Challenges 138Best Practice Alternative 139Sankey Diagrams 141Why People Use Them 141Characteristics 141Challenges 142Best Practice Alternative 144One More Thing: 3-D 145Summary 146Chapter 9 Making Accessible Visualizations 149Accessible Design is Good Design 149Accessibility in Data Visualization 150Ways to Make Accessible Data Visualizations 151Summary 158Section III Creating Compelling Data Displays 159Chapter 10 Dashboards, Reports, and Multidimensional Exploratory Displays (MEDs(TM)) 161Definitions Matter 161Dashboards 162Dashboards Defined 162Purpose/Objective 162Data/Information 163Design 164Example Dashboards 165Dashboard Summary 169Reports 170Reports Defined 170Purpose/Objective 170Design 170Example Reports 171Report Summary 176Multidimensional Exploratory Displays (MEDs(TM)) 176MEDs(TM) Defined 177Purpose/Objective 177Design 177Example MED(TM) 177MEDs(TM) Summary 184Summary 184Chapter 11 Infographics 185"No Tobacco Day" Infographic 186Measles and Vaccinations Infographic 188Infographic vs. Infoposter 191Summary 194Section IV Closing Thoughts and Recommended Reading and Resources 195Closing Thoughts 197Fluency and Mastery 197Bitten by the Viz Bug | Recommended Reading and Resources 199Recommended Reading 199Resources 201Accessibility Resources 202Author Bios 203References 207Index 211