Overview
Working closely with the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the data team, we translated a hundred-page long legislative report on the Massachusetts opioid abuse into an engaging data story, through the aid of interactive data visualization and storytelling. I played a key part in the end-to-end delivery of this project, from the initial concept sketching, data visualization and storyboarding to design, prototype, development, and the final release.
Background
As part of a multi-faceted effort to combat the opioid epidemic, Chapter 55 of the Acts of 2015 was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Baker.
This law permitted the linkage and analysis of different government data sets to better understand the opioid epidemic, guide policy development, and help make programmatic decisions.
Chapter 55 led to an in-depth report examining the factors driving the opioid crisis in Massachusetts. The law was reauthorized in Chapter 133 of the Acts of 2016, enabling this unprecedented analysis to continue supporting the Commonwealth’s data-driven response to the opioid epidemic.
I was tasked with collaborating with the DPH data analysts and the GIS data team in turning the hundred-page long report into a consumable and engaging content for the general public.
Award
This project was the winner of the Innovation in Data Science Award at the Massachusetts Digital Government Summit 2017. The data story continued to serve as a reference and talking point for the state officials on this subject.