Health statistics have been an essential tool for improving the health of populations for centuries. This book provides an account of the essential concepts and complex underpinnings of health statistics. It gives a broad and detailed view of the sources and uses of health statistics, and explores contemporary issues confronting the health statistics enterprise, including privacy, technology, and the emergence of health data standards. It also proposes fundamental changes needed to improve health statistics that can be embraced by practitioners at all levels of government and the private secto ... More

Health statistics have been an essential tool for improving the health of populations for centuries. This book provides an account of the essential concepts and complex underpinnings of health statistics. It gives a broad and detailed view of the sources and uses of health statistics, and explores contemporary issues confronting the health statistics enterprise, including privacy, technology, and the emergence of health data standards. It also proposes fundamental changes needed to improve health statistics that can be embraced by practitioners at all levels of government and the private sector. The book is guided throughout by a model of population health that expands the traditionally held view of what factors influence health. The chapters are grouped into five sections: defining health statistics-context, history, and organization; collecting and compiling health statistics; putting health statistics to use; identifying current and forthcoming issues and transforming health statistics through new conceptual frameworks.