Lastly, the number of flu shot clinics in Chicago over time was investigated. It was expected that this trend would remain fairly constant over time as receiving a flu shot is encouraged annually. It was also expected that the number of locations would drop in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. The data showed that from 2014 to 2018 the number of flu shot locations was steadily declining, then it increased slightly from 2018-2019 and plummeted in the 2020 season. What is encouraging about this data however is the immediate spike in number of flu shot locations after 2020. This indicates that some resources for public health are being restored to the level they need to be at to adequately provide for Chicago residents.

The second topic investigated was the locations of mental health clinics in Chicago (established by the Chicago Department of Public Health) by zip code. It was found that the most clinics in a single zipcode was 17 clinics in area 60608. The next highest was 12 clinics in 60623 and 11 clinics in 60632 and 60647 respectively. These clinics offer care and support for emotional, traumatic, or behavioral difficulties. The zip code 60608 has an average unemployment rate of 9% whereas the national average is 6%. The median income is about $8k less than the national average as well. These factors convey that contrary to what one might expect, neighborhoods with less wealth are actually allotted more public resources for mental health in Chicago.

Diabetes and poverty and its impact on communities in Chicago were analyzed for this graph. Data from the Chicago Health Atlas was used. This topic was viewed through three points of data; the percentage of households getting food stamps, unemployment rate, and the number of diabetes-related hospitalizations per 10,000. In the graph, a trend can be shown where zip codes with higher unemployment rates have greater diabetes hospitalization rates, but also higher percentage of households receiving food stamps. This could potentially indicate that food stamp programs are not as effective as presented. Hypothetically, zip codes with food assistance should have less diabetes-related hospitalizations for two reasons: 1) Households receiving assistance for food can spend that money on other necessities, like insulin, which can prevent hospitalizations; and 2) Some diabetes-related hospitalizations are actually due to blood sugar that is to low, which could happen when an individual doesn’t get enough food—something food stamp programs look to rectify. One reason that could cause this discrepancy is the fact that food stamps don’t necessarily buy healthy food, which is typically more expensive anyways. Junk food is more unhealthy, with high amounts of sugar that could cause harmful spikes for diabetics.