This episode of Geography of Crime explores how Dr. Michael Niño uses the Arkansas Health Survey and AR-COMPASS to uncover neighborhood-level patterns in health, access to care, and social conditions. The conversation highlights how geospatial data can reveal differences hidden by broader averages and support more informed, place-based decisions across public health, criminology, and community planning.
Introduction
In this episode of Geography of Crime, host Dr. Grant Drawve is joined by Dr. Michael Niño to explore a question that sits at the intersection of public health, criminology, and geography: How does where we live shape the risks and challenges we experience?
Drawing on Dr. Niño’s work with the Arkansas Health Survey and AR-COMPASS, the conversation examines how neighborhood-level data can reveal patterns that broader averages often overlook. From disparities in health and access to care to the social conditions that can influence both health and crime, the episode demonstrates how geospatial data can provide a more nuanced understanding of Arkansas communities—and help turn that understanding into more informed, place-based decisions.
Building A Clearer Picture of Arkansas Health
A central focus of the conversation is the Arkansas Health Survey, which Dr. Niño leads. The statewide, multiyear initiative was developed to create a more comprehensive population-health data infrastructure for Arkansas. Nearly 10,000 adults from all 75 counties participated in its first year, producing detailed information on physical health, behavioral health, access to care, and the social conditions that influence well-being.
Turning Health Data into an Interactive Map
The importance of the survey goes beyond its size. Statewide and county-level averages can describe Arkansas broadly, but they often conceal substantial variation within communities. The Arkansas Health Survey was designed to make those local differences more visible and provide policymakers, health professionals, researchers, and community organizations with information that can better support decisions about resources and prevention.
Those data are made accessible through AR-COMPASS, an interactive mapping and data-exploration platform developed from the survey. The dashboard includes 26 health and health-related indicators across Arkansas’ 823 census tracts. Users can examine geographic patterns, compare communities, explore relationships between indicators, and download information for:
- Planning
- Research
- Grant development
- Community engagement
Where Health, Crime, and Place Intersect
The episode also explores a broader point that connects public health and criminology: outcomes are not randomly distributed across geography. Health problems and crime may concentrate in many of the same communities because they are influenced by overlapping conditions, including economic instability, limited access to services, housing conditions, environmental exposures, institutional trust, and accumulated disadvantage. Recognizing that overlap does not mean treating communities as inherently unhealthy or unsafe. It means examining the broader environments in which risks emerge and resources are distributed.
Why One Size Doesn’t Fit Every Community
Dr. Niño also discusses the distinct challenges of studying Arkansas, where urban neighborhoods, smaller cities, and rural communities can experience health risks and access to care in very different ways. These differences demonstrate why broad averages and one-size-fits-all interventions are rarely sufficient. Effective responses require data that reflect the conditions of individual places.
From Research to Real-World Insight
The conversation provides a look at Dr. Niño’s background, the work of his lab, the development of the Arkansas Health Survey, and the growing use of geospatial analysis to translate health data into practical information. It also highlights the value of collaboration across sociology, criminology, public health, data science, and community practice.
Listen to the full episode of Geography of Crime on our YouTube page or wherever you get your podcasts.
About Dr. Michael Niño
Michael Niño
Associate Professor
Department of Sociology & Criminology
University of Arkansas
Dr. Niño is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Arkansas and Director of the Arkansas Health Equity and Access Lab. His research sits at the intersection of medical sociology, criminology, population health, and quantitative methods. Across these areas, his work examines how social, environmental, and structural conditions shape health and contribute to disparities among communities.
Learn more:
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