ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of data visualizations were created to inform the public about the rapidly evolving crisis. Data dashboards, a form of information dissemination used during the pandemic, have facilitated this process by visualizing statistics regarding the number of COVID-19 cases over time. Prior work on COVID-19 visualizations has primarily focused on the design and evaluation of specific visualization systems from technology-centered perspectives. However, little is known about what occurs behind the scenes during the visualization creation processes, given the complex sociotechnical contexts in which they are embedded. Yet, such ecological knowledge is necessary to help characterize the nuances and trajectories of visualization design practices in the wild, as well as generate insights into how creators come to understand and approach visualization design on their own terms and for their own situated purposes. In this research, we conducted a qualitative interview study among dashboard creators from federal agencies, state health departments, mainstream news media outlets, and other organizations that created (often widely-used) COVID-19 dashboards to answer the following questions: how did visualization creators engage in COVID-19 dashboard design, and what tensions, conflicts, and challenges arose during this process? Our findings detail the trajectory of design practices-from creation to expansion, maintenance, and termination-that are shaped by the complex interplay between design goals, tools and technologies, labor, emerging crisis contexts, and public engagement. We particularly examined the tensions between designers and the general public involved in these processes. These conflicts, which often materialized due to a divergence between public demands and standing policies, centered around the type and amount of information to be visualized, how public perceptions shape and are shaped by visualization design, and the strategies utilized to deal with (potential) misinterpretations and misuse of visualizations. Our findings and lessons learned shed light on new ways of thinking in visualization design, focusing on the bundled activities that are invariably involved in human and nonhuman participation throughout the entire trajectory of design practice.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has burgeoned into a pandemic that highlights the countless social and health disparities that have existed in Black communities within the United States for centuries. Recent epidemiological data show that Black communities are being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, resulting in higher morbidity and mortality rates compared to other racial and ethnic groups. For Black women in particular, a long-standing history of systemic racism and marginalization has resulted in increased vulnerability and susceptibility to certain adverse health outcomes. Recent data show that COVID-19 knowledge rates among Black participants are low, and that Black women who become infected with COVID-19 have higher risks of complications and mortality compared to their non-Black counterparts. Given this data, there is a need to explore where and how Black women are obtaining information that pertains to COVID-19, along with the impacts that COVID-19 may be having on their daily lives. DESIGN: We conducted interviews with 15 Black women who are clients at a community-based family service center to assess their understanding of COVID-19, determine how they were obtaining COVID-19 information, and evaluate the various impacts that COVID-19 was having on their lives. An initial codebook was developed based on the recorded interviews which included deductive and inductive codes. A thematic analysis of the data was then conducted using MaxQDA (Verbi Software), focusing on Black women's experiences related to COVID-19. RESULTS: The majority of participants were using a combination of social media platforms and news sources to obtain information about COVID-19. Most participants (79%) expressed confusion, misunderstanding, and mistrust of the information that they were receiving about COVID-19. CONCLUSION: In addressing COVID-19-related health disparities within Black communities, it is imperative for trusted entities and organizations within Black communities to provide accurate and tailored information regarding this novel virus.