Project Information:
According to the Blueprint for Action presented by Childbirth Connection in 2010,  two of the main goals were to act on health disparities/outcomes and improve consumer choice1.   In order to work towards these goals, our project aims to provide easy access and visualization to cesarean and vaginal birth data within the United States.  With Cesareans numbering over 1.36 million in 20082 and steadily increasing, what groups may be most likely to receive the operation and in what states?  

For the project, we imputed total delivery data from 2006-2008 (cesarean/vaginal birth), including factors such as race, location and Medicaid payment into a Google Fusion Table.  Google Fusion Tables are a cloud based application that allows users to upload data and manipulate it in a variety of ways, including a GIS option.  The table we created includes 2006-2008 statistics on:
-overall births for the United states
-total cesarean deliveries
-total vaginal deliveries
-race of mother
-numbers of Medicaid paid births
-percentages of Medicaid paid births

The map visualization of the data gives users quick access to multiple data sets of state delivery statistics.  Users can select among state pinpoints to access data concerning total, vaginal and cesarean births among various populations.  Or, they can select the visualize option to create an intensity map that colors the sections with highest concentrations of a certain factor.  The information tool can be expanded to display up to 100,000 rows of information and is embeddable.  The impact of the tool will be increased if visitors are allowed to embed the link on their own sites.  

You may review a screencast demonstrating the tool here:http://screenr.com/yWJ

Our Tool Can Be Found Here: Google Fusion Tables

Instructions for use:
The link provides access to the Google Fusion Table which lists information by several factors.  The View tab at the top of the spreadsheet provides a Filter and Aggregate option.  Data can be manipulated by selecting or imputing terms for the three boxes that appear.  The Apply option will create results for the options chosen, while the Clear Filter option will erase earlier searches made by the user.  The Aggregate option has similar characteristics.

For the map, the Visualize option offers: Table, Map, Intensity map, Line, Bar, Pie and Scatter options.  Data can be represented by characteristics chosen by the user.  The Map option provides data representation via red pinpoints - each one reveals a data box when clicked.  It is important that the user selects the state option in the Location area so that the data is properly plotted.  The Intensity map brings up data visually by color-coding the states, with plotting by region or marker.  

Geneva Team Contact/Address/Affiliation Information:
Sophia and Senovia Guevara may both be contacted at sophiaguevara@gmail.com

Citations:
1.  Angood, Peter, Elizabeth Armstron, Diane Ashton, Helen Burstin, and Maureen Corry. "Blueprint for Action: steps toward a high-quality, high-value maternity care system." Women's Health Issues 20.1S (2010): s18-s49. Web. 4 Mar 2011. <http://www.whijournal.com/article/S1049-3867%2809%2900140-6/abstract>.

2.  National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Stats. , 2008. Web. 4 Mar 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/vitalstats/VitalStats_Births.htm#>.

Table data sources:
1. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Stats. , 2008. Web. 4 Mar 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/vitalstats/VitalStats_Births.htm#>.

2. "Maternal and Child Health Update." NGA Venter for Best Practices. National Governors Association, 19 Jan 2011. Web. 4 Mar 2011. <"Birth Tables 2008." n. pag. Vital Stats. Web. 5 Mar 2011.  >.  

I also tried to enter the following to cite the additional data sets I used:
1. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Stats. , 2008. Web. 4 Mar 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/vitalstats/VitalStats_Births.htm#>.

2. "Maternal and Child Health Update." NGA Center for Best Practices. National Governors Association, 19 Jan 2011. Web. 4 Mar 2011. <"Birth Tables 2008." n. pag. Vital Stats. Web. 5 Mar 2011.>.