A new online dashboard will allow policymakers in Tennessee to move beyond superficial data and take a deep dive into why certain rural counties struggle, experts at East Tennessee State University said.
The Tennessee Livability Indicators Dashboard was developed by ETSU’s Center for Rural Health and Research (CRHR), using data collected from various agencies about 60 topics related to the counties’ quality of life. Data is related to such topics as economic development, housing, transportation, education, employment, availability of health care access, and how friendly a community is for aging residents.
Of Tennessee’s 95 counties, 78 are designated as rural, and 70 counties have more than half of their residents in rural areas. The dashboard, officials said, helps to show where resources are needed most and what different elements of life may be affecting rural areas.
Dr. Qian Huang, a research assistant professor with the CRHR, said the dashboard helps to provide easy access to data about everyday life across the state at the county level.
“By bringing these data together, we aim to equip communities, leaders, and organizations with the tools they need to make informed decisions and strengthen livability across the state,” Huang said in an interview with the Daily Yonder. “This provides an overall picture that allows us to connect more than 60 variables that give policymakers a picture of what is happening at the county level.”
The dashboard came out of the Tennessee Livability Collaborative, a group of 26 state agencies, departments, commissions, and academic institutions that work together to create alignment within the state’s government. Group members determined there was a need to be able to view and share data about the state on a range of topics that contribute to the quality of life in the state.
For example, Monroe County is considered to be 98.2% rural by the state. With more than 636 square miles of total land area in the county, it is the sixth-largest county in the state. However, the county has a population of only 46,064 residents, meaning just 72.5 people per square mile. In comparison, Davidson County, home to Nashville, has a population of nearly 710,000, with a population density of more than 1,130 people per square mile.
Drilling down into the data, the dashboard shows Monroe County has an average income per capita of $41,041, with 28.6% of the population living at or below 150% of the federal poverty level, and 5,855 individuals in the county (or roughly 13%). The dashboard shows Davidson County with an average income per capita of $85,551, and 22.43% of the county’s population living at or below 150% of the federal poverty level, and 62,658 individuals receiving SNAP benefits (or roughly 9%).
Michael Meit with CRHR, said the dashboard will shine a light on rural counties and hopefully will help policymakers with effective decision making.
“I think policymakers should use tools like this to place resources throughout the state where they are needed most,” Meit said in an interview with the Daily Yonder. “At the end of the day, poverty and lack of economic development can have a negative effect on a county, and focusing resources in areas that need them can stimulate further investment in those areas.”
The dashboard will be particularly helpful when it comes to distributing the first round of federal Rural Health Transformation grants, the researchers said, because the data provided by the dashboard will help rural advocates prove where Tennessee’s portion of the $50 billion federal investment is most needed.
Factors covered in the dashboard, such as hospital access, teen birth rate, suicide rates, and access to dental healthcare, will also help track successes from the use of those funds.
Tennessee’s Rural Health Transformation Plan is focused on access, rural health, technology, and keeping rural hospitals open. The state’s written goals include having 80% of rural residents within 30 minutes of care; fewer maternal and infant deaths; more rural internet providers connected to broadband internet to allow rural residents access to telehealth systems; and no rural hospital closures.
Meit and Huang both said the dashboard would continue to be updated using the most recent data available. While some data comes from national sources that may not be as current, other data will help track changes as federal money begins to filter into rural communities.
Providing information to and about rural communities is why CRHR was formed in 2019, Meit said. The researchers said they hoped the dashboard would be used as a model for other states to be able to drill down into data about their communities, as well.
“Our first five years have laid a strong foundation,” he said in a statement. “Through collaboration, research, and deep engagement with rural communities, we have built a center that not only serves Tennessee and Appalachia but also informs national policy and practice.”
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