title: NC CATCH: Advancing Public Health Analytics.
abstract: The North Carolina Comprehensive Assessment for Tracking Community Health (NC CATCH) is a Web-based analytical system deployed to local public health units and their community partners. The system has the following characteristics: flexible, powerful online analytic processing (OLAP) interface; multiple sources of multidimensional, event-level data fully conformed to common definitions in a data warehouse structure; enabled utilization of available decision support software tools; analytic capabilities distributed and optimized locally with centralized technical infrastructure; two levels of access differentiated by the user (anonymous versus registered) and by the analytical flexibility (Community Profile versus Design Phase); and, an emphasis on user training and feedback. The ability of local public health units to engage in outcomes-based performance measurement will be influenced by continuing access to event-level data, developments in evidence-based practice for improving population health, and the application of information technology-based analytic tools and methods.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina, Charlotte, College of Health and Human Services, Department of Public Health Sciences.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Studnicki
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eichelberger
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bridger
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Angelon-Gaetz
authors.forename: Debi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nelson