The goal of this project was to use the coding techniques taught in MIS2402 to analyze the data in an API found online. The API I analyzed contained the drug overdose rates per 100,000 people between 1999 and 2017, broken down by age, gender, race, and whether they are Hispanic or Latino. I decided to focus on the latter criteria, Hispanic origin, and analyze the differences in overdose rates between those who are Hispanic and those who are not. I found the average rate from 1999 to 2017 among Hispanics was 3.76 per 100,000, compared to 1.39 per 100,000 among non-Hispanics. I drew the hypothesis that this disparity could be due to Hispanic communities receiving less government assistance to fund their healthcare systems, rehab centers, safe-injection sites, and other harm-reducing resources that could benefit drug users in these communities. Though I did not test this hypothesis, this project taught me that the coding skills we have been learning in MIS2402 aren’t only applicable for some major endeavor like creating a website. What we have been learning can be beneficial even for simple analytical activities like this one in the same way that something like Excel can be used to gain insights that can contribute to achieving larger goals.
https://misdemo.temple.edu/tuq30488/MIS_Pro_Point_Project.html
