Health information in public health care

1. Dr Ubaid N P,
Junior Resident,
Pariyaram Medical College

2. “a mechanism for the collection, processing, analysis
and transmission of information required for
organizing and operating health services, and also
for research & training”

3. Data – Discrete observations of attributes or events
that carry little meaning when considered alone
Information – It is data which is reduced,
summarized & adjusted for variations such as the
age & sex of population so that comparison over
time & place are possible
Intelligence – Produced when information is
transformed through integration & processing with
experience & perceptions based on social & political
values

4.  Demography & vital events
 Environmental health statistics
 Health status – mortality, morbidity, disability &
quality of life
 Health resources – facilities, beds, manpower
 Utilization & non utilization of health services –
attendance, admissions
 Indices of outcome of medical care
 Financial statistics related to particular objective

5.  Measure health status & quantify health problems &
needs
 Local, national & international comparisons
 Planning, administration and management
 Asses effectiveness & efficiency of health services
 For research

7. 1,210,569,573

8. 1. Census
“ Total process of collecting, compiling & publishing
demographic, economic & social data pertaining at a
specified time, to all persons in a country or
delimited territory”

9. 2. Registration of vital events
 Keeps a continuous check on vital events
 Central birth & death registration act, 1969
 Time limit for registration of birth & death

10. 3.Sample registration system (SRS)
 Dual record system, consisting of continuous
enumeration of births & deaths by an enumerator &
an independent survey every 6 months by an
investigator – supervisor
 Covers the entire country, more reliable

11. 4. Notification of diseases
 International Health Regulations (IHR) – Cholera,
Plague, Yellow fever etc
 Can identify outbreak
 Even extended to NCDs
Drawbacks :
 Covers only a small part of total sickness in
community
 Under reporting
 Atypical & subclinical cases
 Lack of facilities for diagnosis in rural areas

12. 5. Hospital records
6. Disease registers
 Cases can be followed up
 Frequency, duration, CFR, survival
7. Record linkage
 Birth, immunization, marriage, death, hospital admission
& discharge
 Twin studies, chronic disease, genetics etc
8. Epidemiological surveillance
 Endemic diseases control & eradication
programmes – malaria, TB, Leprosy

13. 9. Other health service records
 Health centers, polyclinics, PP, diabetic & HTN
clinics etc
 Records usually kept for administrative purposes
rather than for monitoring
10. Environmental health data
 Pollution, industrial toxicants, harmful food
additives
 Can identify & quantify factors causing disease
11. Health manpower statistics

14. 12. Population surveys – health survey
Types:
a) Survey to evaluate health status
b) Survey to investigate factors affecting health &
disease
c) Surveys relating to administration of health
services
Survey methods:
a) Health interview (face to face) survey
b) Health examination survey
c) Health records survey
d) Mailed questionnaire survey

15. 13. Other routine statistics related to health
a) Demographic – population density, movement,
education level
b) Economic – sales of drugs, per capita income
c) Social security schemes – medical insurance,
sickness, absence & disability benefits rates
14. Non – quantifiable information
Public attitudes, information on health policies &
legislations, procedure, technology etc