Building R Dashboards for Interactive Deployment of Cohort Survey Data.

Objectives: Population cohort surveys often include data relevant to monitoring oral health trends. Given recent changes in both research and education environments dashboards can be an exciting, rapid way of communicating key findings and facilitating collaboration. An R and Shiny dashboard was developed for multiple datasets from national children surveys to demonstrate the benefits of this type of online communication tool.
Methods: RStudio, flexdashboard and Shiny apps were used to develop a data dashboard. Data sources included three waves of both infant ('08) and child ('98) cohorts from the Growing Up in Ireland Survey and the National Children's Food Survey (NCFSII- 2017/18). Dietary intake, anthropometrics and oral health related data were key variables selected.
Results: An R flexdashboard with Shiny was developed which enables interactive exploratory data analysis and visualisation. Descriptive findings related to dental health are displayed from multiple cohort survey datasets. A live demonstration of the interactive, dynamic nature of the dashboard can be presented.
Conclusions: R-based dashboards can be an effective means of communicating data visualisations and encourage interactive exploration and dissemination of research.