Temple University Featured as Community Health Data Base Spotlight Agency, February 2004
Sunday. February 1, 2004

Temple University Ushers in a New Era for the Community Health Data Base

PHMC’s Community Health Data Base is pleased to welcome Temple University as its newest Member -- and as its very first Member from the local academic community.

“This new Membership opens analysis of the data to a whole new field of highly qualified individuals,” commented Francine Axler, M.P.H., the Community Health Data Base’s Project Director. “We look forward to working with Temple now and through the duration of the upcoming two-year Membership period, which will include the development and fielding of the 2004 Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey.”

The Membership agreement, which was arranged by Temple’s Office of Research and Graduate Studies, gives Temple faculty and students access to the Community Health Data Base for research, curriculum, and other special projects.

“Temple University has always placed a high value on research. The rigorous methodology and emphasis on statistical quality maintained by the Community Health Data Base make it a suitable match for Temple researchers,” reports Rob Gage, M.S.P.H., from Temple’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies. PHMC’s Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey will provide Temple researchers with a new source for local data that covers a wide range of health and social issues -- such as health status, access to health care, service use, health-related behavior, and social capital. Temple staff will be able to investigate these topics on many levels using demographic and geographic variables.

To promote and facilitate use of the Community Health Data Base by the largest possible number of Temple faculty, staff, and students, the data will be housed in Temple’s Social Science Data Library. Two upcoming orientations, to be held on Main campus and on the Health Sciences campus this December 4th, will acquaint the Temple community with this new resource.

If you would like to learn more about Temple’s new Membership in the Community Health Data Base, please contact Rob Gage at Temple robert.gage@temple.edu or Siobhan Hawthorne at PHMC Siobhan@phmc.org.