By Maggie Christ
Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center on Society and Health and the Office of Behavioral Health Wellness, a division of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, launched a new website to promote a better understanding of behavioral health conditions across the commonwealth and their associated social determinants of health through data visualization and storytelling. It’s called the Virginia Wellbeing Dashboard.
The site, which is free and open to the public, aims to show how social determinants shape wellbeing at a population level. With this context, the dashboard can inform systemic, evidence-based approaches to improving health care outcomes across Virginia communities.
“’Wellbeing’ in this context is our emotional health, including our relationship to substances. “We’re defining wellbeing holistically to both reflect the scope of our data set and to acknowledge the frequent co-occurrence of mental health conditions and substance misuse,” said Derek Chapman, Ph.D., interim director for VCU’s Center on Society and Health and professor of epidemiology at VCU’s School of Public Health.
For a more holistic view of wellbeing at a population level, the dashboard also explores the root causes of health outcomes, such as income, education, and housing. These factors, also called social determinants of health, can help predict mental health and substance use disorder outcomes at a community level.
The dashboard was designed to help executive directors, program managers, grant writers, and systems analysts working in behavioral health in government and nonprofit organizations access recent, relevant and granular data, identify opportunities for targeted intervention and learn from other community service boards working in a similar capacity. The website aims to shift the conversation about mental health and substance use disorders to the root causes, highlight social determinants of health, and inform funding allocations, among other things.
“The Virginia Wellbeing Dashboard represents a significant step forward in understanding the intricate connections between behavioral health conditions and the social factors that shape them,” Chapman said. “By leveraging data visualization and storytelling, we can better equip our communities with the tools they need to understand the root causes of mental health conditions and substance use disorders. This platform will be an invaluable starting point for policymakers, community partners, and all those committed to improving the wellbeing of Virginians.”
For example, the 2021 Wellbeing Summary Report found that 23% of Virginians, about 1.9 million individuals, have had a diagnosed mental illness or substance use disorder. But depending on where you live, your access to resources and services varies and leads to different wellbeing outcomes. Behavioral health disparities among communities appeared to mirror differences in income, education, and disability rates. Even in communities with high Wellbeing Scores – indicating many opportunities to thrive – people still experience mental health conditions and substance misuse as not all residents have equal access to those opportunities. There can be large disparities within small geographic areas even though our data don’t yet show this reality. Additionally, certain groups, including veterans or LGBTQ+ people, face additional and unique challenges.
“This dashboard will help us better understand the behavioral health needs of Virginians,” said Commissioner Nelson Smith of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. “It is part of a broader effort to expand accountability across the Commonwealth to ensure Virginians are getting the services they desperately need and their outcomes are improving. We are making sure these efforts are visible so we can see areas where we need to improve and work together to make lives better.”
