Federal statistical bias costs $120 million annually in Medicare funding for Puerto Rico's economy

Free workshops and webinars at the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics

For government officials and the general public

Starting today, Wednesday, February 22, 2023, pre-registration begins for the free offer of workshops and webinars offered by the Statistics Institute of Puerto Rico. This virtual offer of nine workshops with 16 sessions and three webinars seeks to provide solutions in the access, management and analysis of government statistical data and is carried out with rigor and quality in the development of content that is carried out by specialists.

The online format offers the opportunity to participate to government officials and the general public, since the format is asynchronous, that is, within the time available to the participant. In the same way, multiple sessions are included, allowing participants the flexibility to enroll on those dates that are most convenient. Interested individuals can complete pre-enrollment at Academy

The topics included are:

• • • R statistical analysis software: one of the most commonly used open-access and user-friendly software for Data analytics and Data Science.
      • R basic: introductory workshop to help publicize and facilitate the adoption of this programming language for people interested in strengthening their resources for the processing, analysis, visualization and presentation of their statistical research.
      • RStudio: introduction to the integrated development environment (IDE, in English) for managing R, in the analysis, visualization and presentation of statistical analyses.
      • Tidycensus: R library that facilitates the access and processing of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, such as the Census, population estimates and the Community Survey.
    • Tableau Public: free platform that allows the use of interface commands to explore, create and publish data and visualizations online.
    • Resources from the U.S. Census Bureau:
      • Population and housing data: presentation and performance of practical exercises on the tool https://data.census.gov/ to search for data on population and housing in Puerto Rico.
      • Access to microdata from the Community Survey: tool for customizing variable crosses for the analysis of population and housing data in Puerto Rico.
      • QGIS for analyzing data by geographical regions: QGIS is an open source Geographic Information System (GIS). Together with data from the U.S. Census Bureau, maps can be generated to analyze housing, economic, social and demographic issues.
    • Resources from the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics:
      • Cost of Living Index and Calculator: presentation of a publication and Web App that allows us to compare the cost of living in Puerto Rico and different urban areas of the United States.
      • The Violent Death Surveillance System in Puerto Rico: project presentation and publication of data on violent deaths from a health perspective.

On the other hand, webinars are live sessions, in which participants can connect via the Internet to a platform where they can see and hear the speaker and ask the speaker questions after the session is completed.

The topics of the three webinars, with a capacity of 1,000 participants each, are:

• Dominican population in Puerto Rico and its contrasts with the Puerto Rican population, 2015-2019: exposure to the microdata files of the U.S. Census Bureau and an example of their application to the study of the sociodemographic profile of the Dominican population living in Puerto Rico.
• Geographic Delimitations of the U.S. Census Bureau: guidance on the various geographical levels used by the U.S. Census Bureau for the presentation of its data.
• Violence and Femicide in Puerto Rico - Concepts and Statistics: aimed at advising participants on the importance of statistics on gender-based violence and femicide from a health perspective.

To access all the details of the Academies and Workshops Program, see Here.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is a governmental entity in the executive branch, with fiscal and administrative autonomy, whose main purpose is to ensure that Puerto Rico has complete, reliable statistics that are quickly and universally accessible. To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook accounts (@statistics.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR), Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) and LinkedIn (Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics).

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Toxic emissions to the environment are the new data added to the interactive map on school and community profiles

These data could support studies on possible associations between the chemicals emitted and health aspects in populations.

March 20, 2023: A new layer on toxic emissions to the environment was added to the “School Community Profile: The Interactive Map” of the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute). This was reported by the executive director of the Institute, Dr. Orville M. Disdier, who explained that the new layer includes data from the Toxic Emissions Inventory (TRI) of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the year 2020. The TRI provides information on the emissions of chemical substances emitted to the environment by facilities dedicated to manufacturing, metal mining, electric power generation, chemical manufacturing and hazardous waste management.

In this case, the emission of chemical substances means that they are emitted into the air, discharged into the water or placed in some type of disposal unit. Chemical substances are those that are associated with the possible development of cancer or other chronic and acute effects on human health, as well as possible significant adverse effects on the environment. This layer makes it possible to identify the facilities that could be generating toxic emissions, what industrial sector they belong to, how many pounds of toxic emissions they generate, what type of chemical is used or processed, and if the emission is carcinogenic or not. “This information is of enormous value for communities, especially for school communities, since it allows, in collaboration with government agencies and private institutions, to generate prevention and health promotion projects, considering environmental and geographical factors. It also provides data that can help support studies on possible associations between chemical substances emitted and health aspects in populations.”, explained Dr. Disdier.

The “School Community Profile: The Interactive Map”, with this other additional layer and all the others, resides on the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute page and can be accessed at any time by interested parties at the following e-mail address: School community profile.

For technical questions about this tool, you can send an email to: preguntas@estadisticas.pr.

About the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics

To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook accounts (@statistics.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR), Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) and LinkedIn (Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics).

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