Library: Health and Medical Resources: Health Statistics

Health Sciences Librarian

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(260) 481-6502

Subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Communication Sciences & Disorders, Education, Geosciences, Health & Medicine, Mathematical Sciences, Psychology, Writing for Publication

National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR)

Finding and Using Health Statistics Online Course

"This course describes the range of available health statistics, identifies their sources and helps you understand how to use information about their structure as you search."

How to Use and FInd Health Stats

One of the most difficult aspects of using health statistics is accepting that not everything you’d like a statistic on is actually available on the web. In some cases there may not be anyone collecting the data. In other cases, the data may be collected, but it is not being reported in a way you can use. Another problem with statistics is that it can take a long time to analyze and compile the data. Often you will find there is a significant lag between when the data is collected and when it is disseminated in published form. You are unlikely to find data for this year, for example.

When using the listed resources, keep in mind the following strategy:

1. Keep geography in mind. If you are looking for information on only Indiana, start with state resources not the United Nations.

2. Start broadly. If you are looking for the number of teens that die each year in alcohol induced auto accidents, start by looking at mortality rates and see if there is a way to narrow to cause and age.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you are having trouble locating a health statistic, please contact us. We’d love to help! Our contact information is on the right hand side of the page.

Steps in Search for Health Statistics

Taken from: National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR), http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nichsr/usestats/steps_in_successful_search_diagram.html Accessed Nov. 23, 2010.

There are five major kinds of sources of health statatics:

Population surveys—developed during the 20th century—now provide a large body of information
Surveys of providers—such as physicians, hospitals and nursing homes—are also an important source of information.
Vital statistics—drawn from the records of births, deaths, marriages and divorces—facilitate detailed analyses of particular conditions
Registers of diseases—such as cancer and AIDS—show the incidence, prevalence and outcomes of these threats.
Administrative records—such as those compiled during a hospital stay or at outpatient clinics or physician’s offices—provide another perspective.

Taken from: National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR), http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nichsr/usestats/sources.html Accessed Nov. 23, 2010.

Process of Collecting Health Statistics

Chart Discriptions: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nichsr/usestats/chart_description.html

Taken from: National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR), http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nichsr/usestats/chart.html Accessed Nov. 23, 2010.

NN/LM Health Statistics Guide

The Health Statistics and Numerical Data subject guide includes some of the major sources of health and general statistics in the United States and a brief list of international resources.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/Subject_Guides/healthstatistics/

Health, United States is an annual report on trends in health statistics.

Indiana

Indiana State Department of Health
The Indiana State Department of Health supports Indiana's economic prosperity and quality of life by promoting, protecting and providing for the health of Hoosiers in their communities.
State Health Facts (Kaiser Foundation)
A project of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and is designed to provide free, up-to-date, and easy-to-use health data on all 50 states. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the nation.
STATS Indiana
Provides several ways to obtain and present essential social, economic, and demographic data for the State of Indiana, its counties, and many smaller units as well for all U.S. states and counties.
Indiana INdicators
This free data resource will help perform community health needs assessments, guide the development of community improvement plans, and much more. We invite you to browse the site, check out the dashboards, the maps, and take our feedback poll.

United States

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Produces and disseminates information about the cost, quality, access, and medical effectiveness of health care.
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Produces and disseminates information about the cost, quality, access, and medical effectiveness of health care. AHRQ's Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys provide public and private sector decision makers with timely national estimates of health care use and expenditures; private and public health insurance coverage; and the availability, costs, and scope of private health insurance benefits among the U.S. population. AHRQ prepares analyses of changes in behavior as a result of market forces or policy changes on health care use, expenditures, and insurance coverage; develops cost/savings estimates of proposed changes in policy; and identifies the impact of changes in policy for key groups in the population.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Provides data on morbidity, epidemiologic surveillance of infectious diseases, chronic diseases, occupational diseases and injuries, vaccine efficacy, and safety.
Health Resources & Services Administration
Collects data on general health services, the health professions workforce, and resource issues related to access, equity, quality, and cost of care. HRSA maintains the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients and the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Collects administrative data associated with oversight of the Medicare and Medicaid programs; studies the quality of care delivered by those programs; and sponsors a survey of current Medicare beneficiaries to obtain data on health care utilization and expenditures, including expenditures not covered by Medicare, the sources of health care coverage and payment, and the assets, income, health, functional status, work history, and family support systems of the Medicare population.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Supports research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), trains researchers in CAM, and disseminates information to the public and professionals on which CAM modalities work, which do not, and why.
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The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is the Federal Government's lead agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine.
National Center for Health Statistics
The principal agency that produces general-purpose health data. NCHS is responsible for the collection, maintenance, analysis, and dissemination of statistics on the nature and extent of the health, illness, and disability of the U.S. population; the impact of illness and disability on the economy; the effects of environmental, social, and other health hazards and health care costs and financing.
Statistical Abstract of the United States
Authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.

International

Eurostat
Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union situated in Luxembourg. Its task is to provide the European Union with statistics at European level that enable comparisons between countries and regions.
Global Health Observatory (WHO)
The Global Health Observatory (GHO) is WHO's portal providing access to data and analyses for monitoring the global health situation. It provides critical data and analyses for key health themes, as well as direct access to the full database. The GHO presents data from all WHO programs and provides links to supporting information.
UNdata: a World of Information
UNdata contains official statistics produced by countries and compiled by United Nations data system, as well as estimates and projections. The domains covered are agriculture, crime, education, energy, health, industry, labor, national accounts, population and tourism.