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Secondary
Data
What
it is:
- Gathering,
organizing and analyzing secondary data is essential in the
process of Community and Population Health Development and
the methodology of our Community
and Population Health Status Assessment (CHSA),
one of my services.
- Secondary
and "existing" data: An important dimension of collecting
data that already exist on the health of a geographic area
or population of interest is the use of "local"
contact people and organizations to help assemble the data.
- Demographics,
the economy and local income distribution, the education system,
state and local policies that influence access to resources,
data from financing sources such as Medicare and Medicaid
data, other data from departments of Welfare, Public Health,
and Human Resources, individual states' Healthy People initiatives,
and, most importantly, information on programs and efforts
that have been researched and discussed, but never implemented
in a community are just a few examples of types of secondary
data that I analyze in a CHSA.
Value
of Data:
Secondary
data provides a context for qualitative and quantitative
data.
- Using
these data is cost-effective in that someone else has already
borne the costs of the collection and preliminary preparation
of the data.
- Community
and Population Health Status Assessment (CHSA),
organizing these data often involves requesting information
from community members, state representatives or other resource
holders.
- Requesting
data and information from organizations or individuals requires
explaining the purpose for your request, and what will be
done with the data or the report that is being shared. This
request-exchange process builds relationships that bring other
partners into the Community and Population Health
Development process.
- This
"request" and exchange process begins to build a
relationships that will have benefits immediately in the Community
and Population Health Development process, and also in the
future.
Where
We Obtain Secondary Data:
- Local
organizations, such as hospitals or non-profits that have
conducted previous assessments.
- "Non-local"
sources such as: U.S. Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) Wonder database and the national and State Behavioral
Risk Factor Survey data.
- Internet/Web-based
sources; foundations, national research organizations and
federal sources of data are most likely to be accessed via
the Web.
Examples
of Secondary Data:
- History
and geography
- Population
figures (total size, age and gender distribution, race/ethnicity)
- Education
indicators (high school drop out rate, educational attainment)
- Income
(persons under 100% and 200% of the federal poverty level,
by age)
- Household
composition
- Local
employment (industry types, unemployment rate)
- Housing
(% of population that owns homes, current selling prices for
new homes)
- Government
(local form, voting history, state and federal representatives
with party)
- Places
of worship (number and types)
- Local
philanthropy (number and corpus, including United Way)
- Resources
and policies that influence access to care: primary care delivery
sites, state
- Medicaid
policies, insurance mix at major primary and tertiary care
providers, % of population uninsured, % of local market that
is capitated insurance products
- Incidence
rates for select infectious diseases
- Prevalence
of health risks (smoking, overweight)
- Prevalence
of chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, asthma, cancer)
- Death
rates for eighteen "consensus" indicators selected
by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Utilization
of preventive, primary and social services available in the
community
- Birth
rates and percentage of births of low weight and to adolescents
What
is a CHSA?
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