“Voice of Covid” community project

The Maricopa County Department of Public Health has created a platform that helps individuals speak out about their experiences with COVID-19. The platform is determined to serve its community by hearing out many different voices.

“This is part of our community health needs assessment work that we do every three years,” said Lilliana Cardenas, the Supervisor of the Office of Community Engagement at the County Health Department.

While there was an assessment conducted during the peak of COVID to collect data, participants were also encouraged to share their stories about how they have been personally impacted by the pandemic. The data collected has aspects of both surveying and storytelling.

“A lot of times, when we see the numbers, they don’t mean a whole lot until we see the stories behind those numbers,” Cardenas said.

Over 4,500 people responded to the open-ended question regarding their personal experiences listed on the assessment survey, according to Cardenas.

There is a dashboard that viewers can navigate to view certain pieces of data and quotes from participants.