Every day we create a tremendous amount of data from our use of cell phones to medical records—from credit card purchases to social media posts. For modern society, data analysis is a very important skill for all industries, but it is an essential skill for the health care industry. In population health, data analysis has led to changes in health care practices that has saved many, many lives.
You are starting a new job in the health department of your state. Your manager has requested that you pull the most recent data on Covid transmission rates in ten nearby counties in your area. Your manager would also like to be able to see the risk of Covid transmission on a local map by city or zip code.
Create a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that fulfills your manager’s request by completing the following steps:
- Access data on Covid transmission rates from the CDC website. This webpage lists the data in a spreadsheet format.
- Open Microsoft Excel software.
- Create a new Microsoft Excel file named “MPH 510 Excel Assignment.”
- Name a worksheet in your Microsoft Excel file “Qualitative Data.”
- Create the following column titles:
- County Name
- Covid Transmission Levels per 100k
- Risk Level
- Using your downloaded data, enter the following information into your spreadsheet for ten cities in your state:
- County Name
- Current Covid transmission rate for the county for every 100,000 people
- Qualitative description of the transmission rate as high, medium, or low
- Create a new worksheet in the same Microsoft Excel file.
- Title the new worksheet “Quantitative Data.”
- Create the following column titles:
- County Name
- Covid Transmission Levels per 100k
- Risk Level
- Using your downloaded data, enter the following information into your spreadsheet for ten cities in your state:
- Zip code (you will need to select a single zip code for each county)
- Current Covid transmission rate for the zip code
- Quantitative value that describes risk level
- Within your Excel spreadsheet, write a 75- to 90-word response on differences between qualitative and quantitative data. Consider the following questions:
- What is the value of qualitative and quantitative data to population health?
- How can you convert qualitative into quantitative data and how can that make it easier to perform data analysis?
