By Elizabeth Prom-Wormley
Datapalooza was a huge success!! On November 15th The Health and Wellness Initiative and partners came together for a spectacular big data revelation event: Datapalooza! Datapalooza was dedicated to reviewing the results of Seventh District Health and Wellness Survey which was designed to gauge the current health and wellness conditions of Richmond East End residents.
Those in attendance included survey administrators, residents from participating neighborhoods, community advocates, volunteers, Health and Wellness Initiative (HWI) staff and partners, and student researchers. Part of what makes HWI great at finding creative solutions is the diversity of involvement. Everyone has a different background and professional involvement. It is fun to witness the fervor in wanting to make change by taking active roles, generating ideas, and volunteering.
We began the day with the attendees enjoying breakfast and selfies. During breakfast we had a fun activity called the “Wall of Wellness” where everyone was encouraged to create a sign in the color of their choice on what a “culture of wellness in the East End” means to them in six words or less. We then took a selfie with our signs before it went up on the wall.
After everyone was acquainted with each other, Cynthia Newbille and Elizabeth Prom-Wormley gave captivating speeches to get us motivated followed by a review of preliminary results of the research with everyone in attendance. The entire group worked together to reach a consensus on a common goal for Datapalooza which was to create a culture of “connected wellness” in the East End. This means our objective for the day was to brainstorm ideas on how we can get East End health organizations to work together to provide a healthier lifestyle for their communities. Everyone was then divided into 3 teams consisting of a data analyst, team recorder, residents, and organization representatives. Each group focused on a particular collection of survey questions and was responsible for scrutinizing a given dataset and writing a top three critical issues and solutions list facing east end residents. The teams would then rendezvous in the large room and review and provide feedback on each other’s work as a collective to reach a consensus on issues and solutions.
Datapalooza was a very productive day. We all agreed to work through lunch together for better time management. It was a very relaxed and comforting environment. After sharing lunch, we regrouped with our teams and proceeded to review a new dataset and create new lists. After the final group presentations, we discussed how to achieve our common goal and began planning the next steps towards action.
The day was concluded after everyone filled out a satisfaction survey. Datapalooza was enjoyable, everyone felt respected, and everyone was satisfied with the way the data was presented. The vast majority of participants agreed to take a more active role within the movement and while brainstorming next steps, people were quick to volunteer to be on teams and committees. The most exciting part about Datapalooza was that we all had similar reasons for attending and that everyone was enthusiastic about creating change in our community.
Finally we ended the day with an award ceremony and networking.
Results and valuable information from the survey are available for you to download and review using the link provided below. Also take a look at our case study published on VCU Scholars Compass:
http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=cer_resources
If you would like to be involved in creating a culture of connected wellness in the Seventh District of Richmond, contact us! We would love to work with you.
ExecutiveSummaryOfHWS2014Results5262015v2
Summary of Datapalooza 2014
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