A Geographic Information System (GIS) interactive dashboard developed by East Tennessee State University College of Public Health's Center for Rural Health and Research (CRHR) Assistant Professor Dr. Qian Huang has earned special recognition from the Association of American Geographers (AAG). The North Carolina Maternal and Child Health Dashboard has been selected as a winner of the AAG Health and Medical Geography Specialty Group Health Data Visualization Award, which honors outstanding spatial data visualizations that provide valuable insights into health and medical geography.
The dashboard was developed as part of a collaborative project with the ETSU Center for Applied Research and Evaluation (CARE) in Women’s Health and the Dogwood Health Trust. It integrates multiple public and semi-public data sources to visualize maternal and child health outcomes and social determinants of health across North Carolina, with a particular focus on Western North Carolina. By offering a comprehensive, user-friendly interface, the tool supports policymakers, healthcare providers, and community organizations in making data-driven decisions to improve health outcomes.
“I’m honored to receive the Award for our North Carolina Maternal and Child Health Dashboard,” said Dr. Huang. “This recognition highlights the importance of making data accessible and actionable for public health. I’m excited to see our work making an impact.”
Dr. Huang will be honored for the award at the AAG Conference in Detroit on March 27. The recognition underscores ETSU’s commitment to advancing research that enhances health care access and outcomes through innovative data visualization and analysis.