Exploratory Visual Data Analysis: The Opioid Epidemic
Drashti Patel
Project Overview
I completed a project as part of my master's program in Business Intelligence with Visual Analytics, focusing on the opioid epidemic. I conducted exploratory visual data analysis to better understand the history and impact of the epidemic. The goal was to discover insights about opioid abuse and trends based on opioid types in the US over time using Tableau visualizations.
Data Preparation & Analysis
Using Excel and Python, I split the data, removed unnecessary information, and standardized the data across all rows. The cleaned data set was ready for analysis, allowing for exploratory data analysis and insights into the trends and patterns. I developed data visualizations using Tableau including bar charts, lollipop charts, line graphs, area charts, filled maps, and proportional symbol maps.
Key Insights
Through my analysis, I gained several insights into opioid overdose deaths and the impact of different opioid types over time. Notably, I found that synthetic opioids pose a significant concern for the future, and states on the East Coast may be most affected compared to other regions. Additionally, based on the 2017 data, I identified states that are at the highest risk of opioid-related deaths. Moreover, I identified several additional questions that could be explored through future analysis, which may help in preventing an increase in overdoses in the future. The insights gained from the analysis can be used to inform public policy and healthcare strategies aimed at addressing the epidemic.
