Nov. 07--When President Barack Obama kicked off his re-election campaign in 2012, his analytical staff handed him a priceless gift -- the names of about 67 million voters who had most likely voted for him.
Using the same analytic tools, a company founded by some former Obama campaign workers recently gave the Chicago Department of Public Health the names of 5,000 South Side women who are likely uninsured and live in areas of the city with the highest rates of premature death from breast cancer.
They mailed letters to the 5,000 women in Roseland, Washington Heights and Auburn-Gresham, inviting them to visit Roseland Community Hospital and have a mammogram, paid for by the city of Chicago.
In the first week, the hospital received 79 responses, city officials said.
"From our surveillance data and community area data, we know that Roseland and its surrounding communities have the highest rates of death from breast cancer," said Dr. Jay Bhatt, managing deputy commissioner for the health department. "This allowed us to connect those most likely to be uninsured to breast cancer screening in communities that need it most."
Nationally, African-American women have the highest rate of breast cancer deaths of all ethnic and racial groups and are 40 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than white women.
Civis Analytics, a Chicago company started last year by some former members of Obama's analytical staff, partnered with the health department to identify health disparities in Chicago communities, according to Bhatt. The city did not pay for the data, he said.
During Obama's 2012 campaign, the analysts studied voters in every U.S. precinct and, using a specific set of questions, were able to determine the characteristics of the Obama supporters. The staff then conducted a direct-mail campaign geared toward them. They also targeted undecided voters who were likely to support the president.
In Chicago, the company looked at more than 40 different characteristics, according to Kate Jordan, the engagement manager at Civis.
"We had all these things that we looked at but the question is, 'How do they interact with each other?' " said Jordan. "We did the math and came up with our best estimate of whether someone is more or less likely to have insurance."
While this type of microtargeting is used frequently in political campaigns and in the private sector, this is believed to be the first time a local health department has used it to reach women most likely to miss screenings for a treatable cancer, health officials said.
dglanton@tribune.com
