At once plentiful and elusive, statistical information is among the
most difficult to track down. Statistics are reported in a vast array of publications including
journal articles, government reports, organizational documents and book compilations.
Additionally, they cover a variety of geographic areas, populations, time periods and topics.
Efforts to coordinate collection and dissemination of statistics is fragmented. Listed below are
some sources of medical and health statistics. For assistance, contact the Information Desk.
GUIDES TO STATISTICAL SOURCES
HEALTH STATISTICS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIC GUIDE TO INFORMATION
RESOURCES
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 407.3 .H424 1997
Lists basic sources of vital and health statistics.
INTRODUCTION TO REFERENCE SOURCES IN THE HEALTH SCIENCES
RAYNOR REFERENCE R 118.6 .I54 2004
" Medical and health statistics" chapter covers complexity of statistical information and
helpful search tips.
SECONDARY DATA SOURCES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH: A PRACTICAL GUIDE
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 409 .B67 2007
Lists the major U.S. sources of secondary public health data.
VITAL AND HEALTH STATISTICS - UNITED STATES
COMPREHENSIVE
ADVANCE DATA FROM VITAL AND HEALTH STATISTICS OF THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR
HEALTH STATISTICS
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/ad/ad.htm
Provides early release of data on a wide range of health-related topics. Most data is later published in
the Vital and Health Statistics Series.
CDC SURVEILLANCE SUMMARIES
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_ss.html
Also in print: RAYNOR MEM PERIODICALS RA 407.3 .A375x
Present surveillance findings on diseases and public health issues. Index to several years reports
included in each issue.
HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE IN THE UNITED STATES
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 407.3 .H41
Includes population characteristics, vital statistics, and data on Medicare and healthcare resources for
states, counties and metropolitan areas.
HEALTH CARE STATE RANKINGS
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 407.3 .H423
(older editions in General Collection)
Ranks states on over 400 birth, death, disease, financial, facilities, personnel and lifestyle topics.
HEALTH, UNITED STATES
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm
Also in print: RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 407.3 .U57a
(older editions in General Collection)
Annual summary on health and health industry with geographic & demographic breakdowns.
MMWR: MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY WEEKLY REPORT
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr
Also in print: RAYNOR MEM PERIODICALS RA 407.3 .A37
Weekly Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) incidence report on notifiable diseases and
deaths for the U.S., individual states and selected cities; includes reports on special topics.
Annual summary and index.
NATIONAL VITAL STATISTICS REPORTS
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/nvsr/nvsr.htm
Provide provisional data on births, deaths, marriages and divorces. Supplements with final data
for previous year are issued at regular intervals.
PORTRAIT OF HEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA407.3 .P67
Includes data on physical and mental health topics, including health behaviors, injuries, diseases,
disabilities and death.
VITAL AND HEALTH STATISTICS SERIES: AN ANNOTATED CHECKLIST AND
INDEX TO THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE "RAINBOW SERIES"
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 407.3 .W34 1991
Provides detailed information for the 853 reports published in the 22 series from 1958-March 1991.
Includes indexes by author, title, and subject. See next entry for more information on
the series.
VITAL AND HEALTH STATISTICS SERIES
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/series/ser.htm
Use MARQCAT to view
reports available in print.
Begun in 1958 and often called the " Rainbow Series," covers vital statistics, morbidity,
mortality, health resources and utilization, diseases and disorders. Consists of several hundred
individual reports published in topical series. Reports are currently indexed in Medline.
VITAL STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/vsus/vsus.htm
Natality & mortality with age, race, sex & geographic breakdowns.
TOPICAL
ACCESS TO HEALTH RISK BEHAVIOR IN THE UNITED STATES
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 776.9 A245 2004
Includes state-by-state data on the health-risk behaviors of high school students and adults from the
CDC's Youth Risk Behavior and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Systems.
AMERICAN HEALTH: DEMOGRAPHICS AND SPENDING OF HEALTH CARE
CONSUMERS
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 445 .A447 2005
Provides data on topics such as addictions, aging, health care coverage,
diseases and conditions, disabilities, and use of alternative medicine.
CA: A CANCER JOURNAL FOR CLINICIANS
http://caonline.amcancersoc.org
Also in print: RAYNOR MEM PERIODICALS RC 261 .C2
"Cancer statistics" summarizes data on incidence and mortality annually in Jan/Feb issue.
HEALTH CARE FINANCING REVIEW
Available via ABI/Inform
Medicare and Medicaid Statistical Supplement issued annually.
HOSPITAL STATISTICS
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 981 .A2 A6234
(older editions in General Collection)
Statistical tables on size, finances, services, utilization & personnel of U.S. hospitals.
INJURY FACTS
RAYNOR REFERENCE HA 217 .A4
(older editions in General Collection)
Incidence and mortality by type of accident; location & demographic breakdowns.
MENTAL HEALTH, UNITED STATES
http://www.mentalhealth.org/publications/allpubs/SMA04-3938/default.asp
Includes data on prevalence and treatment of mental and addictive disorders, health insurance coverage,
and capacity and service delivery of mental health organizations.
SOURCEBOOK OF HEALTH INSURANCE DATA
RAYNOR REFERENCE HG 9396 .S6
(older editions in General Collection)
Data on U.S. health insurance/Medicaid/Medicare coverage & costs; health service fees &
expenditures.
STATISTICAL HANDBOOK ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA643 .W33 2003
Includes national and international data on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis,
sexually transmitted diseases, vaccine preventable diseases, malaria, and
food and waterborne illnesses.
WOMEN'S HEALTH DATA BOOK
http://www.kff.org/womenshealth/6004-index.cfm
Includes information on chronic conditions, reproductive health, violence, mental health, health
behaviors, and access to care.
VITAL AND HEALTH STATISTICS - WISCONSIN
WISCONSIN BIRTHS AND INFANT DEATHS
http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/births/index.htm
Also in print: RAYNOR REFERENCE HB 935 .W6 W57
(older editions in General Collection)
Presents data on natality, mortality, and population characteristics of mothers and infants in Wisconsin.
WISCONSIN CANCER INCIDENCE AND MORTALITY
http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/wcrs/pubs.htm
Also in print: RAYNOR REFERENCE RC 261 .A1 C35
(older editions in General Collection)
Data on incidence, mortality and health care utilization patterns.
WISCONSIN COMMUNITY HEALTH PROFILES
http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/localdata/index.htm
Reports on "Infants and Pregnant Women" and "People with Chronic Conditions"
include data for the entire state, individual counties, and selected cities.
WISCONSIN DEATHS
http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/deaths/index.htm
Also in print: RAYNOR REFERENCE HB 1355 .W6 W57
(older editions in General Collection)
Annual compilation of data on deaths, death rates, and causes of death for state and counties.
WISCONSIN FACILITIES SERVING PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/provider/nursinghomes.htm
Also in print: RAYNOR REFERENCE RA997.5 .W5 W574
(older editions in General Collection)
Data on utilization, services, personnel and residents.
WISCONSIN FAMILY HEALTH SURVEY
http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/stats/familyhealthsurvey.htm
Also in print: RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 407.4 .W5 W57
(older editions in General Collection)
Data on health status, selected chronic conditions and utilization of health services.
WISCONSIN HEALTH CARE DATA REPORT
http://www.whainfocenter.com/dataresources.htm
Also in print: RAYNOR REFERENCE RA977.5 .W6 W573
(older editions in General Collection)
Includes data on utilization of Wisconsin hospitals and freestanding ambulatory surgery centers,
charges for services, and primary reasons for hospitalization.
WISCONSIN HOME HEALTH AGENCIES AND PATIENTS
http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/provider/homehealthagencies.htm
Also in print: RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 645.36 .W6 H65
(older editions in General Collection)
Selected agency & patient characteristics; utilization & service trends.
WISCONSIN NURSING HOMES AND RESIDENTS
http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/provider/nursinghomes.htm
Also in print: RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 997.5 .W5 W573
(older editions in General Collection)
Data on facilities, services, personnel and finances in summary graph & text.
VITAL AND HEALTH STATISTICS - INTERNATIONAL
DEMOGRAPHIC YEARBOOK
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/default.htm
RAYNOR REFERENCE HA 17 .D45
(older editions in General Collection)
Annual summary of international demographic & vital statistics by country.
HEALTH IN THE AMERICAS
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 407.5 .A45 H38
Includes health and vital statistics, overviews of national health policies and systems, and recent
political, economic and social trends impacting health and health care for 48 countries and territories.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT
RAYNOR REFERENCE HD 72 .H85
(older editions in General Collection)
Includes data on topics such as immunization status, undernourishment, access to clean water and
sanitation facilities, and incidence of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
MEASURING COUNTRY PERFORMANCE ON HEALTH
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA 407.5 .D44 M43 1999
Contains data from 115 countries on six health indicators.
STATISTICAL HANDBOOK ON THE WORLD'S CHILDREN
RAYNOR REFERENCE HQ767.9 .K38 2002
Includes demographics and vital statistics, and data on health, nutrition
and disease.
WORLD HEALTH DATABOOK
RAYNOR REFERENCE RA441 .W65 2006
Provides data for 71 countries on topics such as life expectancy, health
services, health expenditures, incidence of infectious diseases, causes of
death, and lifestyle issues.
WORLD HEALTH REPORT
http://www.who.int/whr/
Annual report that includes demographic information and morbidity and mortality data for countries
and regions throughout the world.
DATABASES
A great deal of statistical information appears in journal articles and never makes its way into
statistical compilations or reports. Locating these statistics through databases such as Medline
and CINAHL can be difficult because there is no single subject heading used to identify them.
Search tips are listed below. WARNING: do not use the subject heading " statistics."
This heading is used for articles about statistics as a discipline of study, and generally
not for articles with statistics.
Medline
Indexes 4600+ biomedical journals including Vital and Health Statistics Series,
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, etc. Search tips: Subheadings
Search appropriate subject heading for your health/disease topic with these subheadings:
-epidemiology; -statistics and numerical data; -mortality. Subject Headings
Combine appropriate health/disease subject heading with these statistics oriented subject headings:
Incidence; Prevalence; Population Surveillance; or [Geographic area]-epidemiology, e.g. Diabetes
Mellitus and United States-Epidemiology.
CINAHL
Indexes 500+ nursing and allied health journals, publications of the NLN and ANA, book chapters,
and dissertations. Search tips: Subheadings -epidemiology is a useful
subheading under appropriate subject heading. Subject Headings Combine the appropriate
health/disease subject headings with the following subject headings: Disease Surveillance; Registries,
Disease; Morbidity; Mortality; Epidemiological Research; Surveys; e.g. Diabetes Mellitus and
Epidemiological Research.
WEB SITES
The web provides access to a wealth of data. Links to some major statistical sites are included in
the Health
Statistics section of the Health
Sciences page.
Many other government agencies, professional associations, and private health-related
organizations have web sites which provide data. Links to a number of these are included in
other sections of the Health
Sciences page. |
