Health

=Statistics on Health and Disease=

**The United States National Library of Medicine[[image:nlm.gif width="278" height="122" align="right"]]**
The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health ([]) has an extensive list of health statistical databases. Resources were chosen based on authority, quality, and uniqueness of topic. The list is organized into Federal, Non-Federal, State Data Repositories, Health Statistics and International databases. The site also includes helpful tools and surveys.




 * National Center for Health Statistics**

The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics is considered the federal government's principal health statistics agency. ([] and [] ). The CDC collects data from "birth and death records, medical records, interview surveys, and through direct physical exams and laboratory testing." The National Center for Health Statistics provides a number of tools and resources about health statistics and highlights current issues and findings in health care. FastStats organizes data into topics and provides links to original and additional data sources. Reporting definitions and collection information is included in each report. Information is updated continually.



Healthy People 2010 ([] )is the Department of Health and Human Services' initiative to improve health standards in the United States. The website includes information about health issues as well as data from government branches and organizations. Data 2010 ([]) was updated in September 2009 and includes data about each focus area. A great deal of information is compiled in the database but the tables and graphs are not very user friendly.

Next year, Health People 2010 initiative will be launched.


 * Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation[[image:kaiser.png width="131" height="136" align="right"]]**

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation ([]) is a private, non-profit operating foundation. The organization gathers and presents data on health issues. Data comes from a range of sources, including original Kaiser Family Foundation research and public and private organizations. For example, some data is analyzed from the Census Bureau's 2007 and 2008 Current Population Surveys and is presented in user-friendly graphs. Statistical information and analysis is updated or added as it becomes available.


 * World Health Organization**

World Health Organization Statistical Information System ([] ) (WHOSIS) is a database that brings together health statistics for the 193 WHO member countries. It includes more than 100 indicators, and the access points are: quick search, major categories, or through user-defined tables. The data is also available to be filtered, tabulated, charted and downloaded. 2009 data has not been added to the database; it is currently available for download as an excel file.

//World Health Statistics// ([]) is published annually and the 2009 edition is currently available. In addition to data from 193 countries, the report includes a "summary of progress towards the health-related Millennium Development Goals and targets." This publication is available for download in 6 languages. A published copy is available for $40.

A compendium for The World Health Statistics indicator gives metadata for each indicator included in //World Health Statistics 2009.// Information includes definitions, data sources and methods of estimation.