Finding Health Data

Finding relevant health data is necessary for researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and consumers (patients and their families).  To determine the best source of data, you should consider why you want the data and how you plan to use it.

Keep in mind that data and statistics are not synonymous.

• Data refers to the pieces of factual information that are recorded with the purpose of being analyzed. This might be referred to as "raw" because it has not been placed in an informational context. Data can be qualitative or quantitative. Examples of data include a spreadsheet or answers from an open ended survey.
• Statistics are the result of the analysis that has been done to interpret and present data. In other words, researchers have looked at the data and placed it in a meaningful context. When interpreting data, health statistics generally measure four types of information (often referred to as the four C's):

1. Correlates: See how to measure the risk factors and protective factors that impact our health.
2. Conditions: Learn to assess how often and how badly diseases impact a community.
3. Care: Dig into how health care is delivered to the communities that need it, to treat disease and illness.
4. Costs: Get more information on what health care costs, and why.

source: https://www.nlm.nih.gov 

Statistics are "the science of collecting a large amount of numbers, or data, and using them to tell a story." (National Cancer Institute, NIH) 

It is also important to note that data can be open or curated. Open data is available to download freely online and is accessible for anyone to edit, re-process or use. Curated data  refers to data that is available via a subscription or payment. Curated data is somewhat more organized and housed within a tool that might allow for users to combine or analyze multiple datasets. You can access curated data through the Baylor libraries. 

Finally, we must remember that some data may not be findable because it has never been collected, and some data may not be accessible because the public is not allowed to view it (e.g. data that contains HIPPA information). 

Type of data and statistics available in this guide include: 

• Prevalence and incidence information: information about the number of cases of a disease or condition for a given period of time. 
• Medical Information: information about symptoms, diagnosis, and causes of a disease or condition as well as the current practices or interventions for treating or curing the disease or condition
• Health Care Information: information related to the health professions, health care services, hospitals and care provider systems, and associated factors such as finance and insurance.
• Genome Data: data related to the structure and function of an organism's genome. 
• Disease and Condition Data: information about the symptoms, diagnosis, and causes of a collection of specific, frequently researched diseases and conditions as well as the current practices or interventions for treating or curing them.

Below is a table with a list of steps to help aid you in your health data finding process. If you're not sure what kind of data you're interested in, or where you might find good data on the topic that you're interested in, try searching MedLinePlus first. MedLinePlus is a user-friendly NLM-run website where you can find information on a vast variety of health topics. 

Table adapted from the Welch Medical Library, John Hopkins University, Health Statistics Libguide licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License