Géodes: the health indicators web portal of the French Public Health Agency

Abstract

Abstract Background Santé publique France, the French Public Health Agency, produce numerous health indicators (diseases or health determinants) from many different data sources (specific or unspecific surveillance systems, epidemiological and behavioural surveys, administrative databases). In order to improve visibility and accessibility of these indicators, a web portal “Géodes” was created. Methods Géodes was built with Géoclip Air© developped by a French start-up. This ergonomic tool allows to explore the geographical dimension of health indicators through interactive maps along with graphs and tables. In addition, Géodes is designed to explore the temporal dimension of indicators produced yearly or weekly through dynamic maps or time series. All indicators are linked to an explanatory sheets. Description, sources, precisions or limits of interpretation are discribed. It is also easy to present indicators in interactive tables, exportable in different formats such as Excel spreadsheets. Results Since February 1st 2019, Géodes is available online without any access restriction (https://geodes.santepubliquefrance.fr). Over 300 health indicators are provided related to infectious and chronic diseases, occupational and environmental health, behaviours, emergency departement attendances, etc. An indicator is either a number of cases, a proportion or an incidence rate. Most indicators are stratified by categories such as sex or age group. It is possible to represent two indicators on a single map, e.g. the smoking prevalence and the standardised rate of lung cancer. Conclusions The days following the opening to the public, the site recorded up to 10,000 connections per day. In routine, the site knows up to 200 visits per day, up to 3,000 in case of quoting aparticular indicator in the media. These figures show that this health data observatory meet a real need. Key messages A web portal of health indicators created by Santé Publique France is now available. More than 300 health indicators are integrated in the portal. Indicators can be visualized through interactive maps, tables and time series and their values are easily exportable and communicable.