Searching for Data in Statistical Information Resources Konstantina (Dina) Matsoukas, MLIS Head of Reference & Education Coordinator CUMC - Health Sciences Library May 17, 2011

Page 2 Acknowledgements This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. NO1-LM with New York University. This series of training classes was developed by Konstantina (Dina) Matsoukas, Head of Reference and Education Coordinator of the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University.

Page 3 IFH Training Class Series 2011 Orientation to Health Sciences Information Resources (Feb Comprehensive Searching of the Medical Literature (Mar Smart Googling for Healthcare Professionals (Mar Community Health and Demographic Data Sources (Mar Keeping Up with the Medical Literature (Mar Overview of Public Health Information Resources (Apr Finding Evidence Based Information Resources (Apr Expert PubMed/Medline Searching Skills (Apr Finding Patient Education Information Resources (May Searching for Data in Statistical Information Resources (May

Page 4 Topics covered in this session: 1.Defining your data info need 2.Thinking about who would be interested in collecting this data… (ie. identifying potential sources) 3.Exploring noteworthy (compendia/aggregator/ portal/gateway) sources of statistical information 4.Using search tools (like PubMed, Google) to locate health data in the literature and on the Web

Statistical data information needs vary…

Defining your data need Statistical information can come in many formats, including: –Summaries and secondary material –Full reports with tables –Digital versions of data (often available for download) –Full data sets Statistical info comes from a variety of sources, including: –Administrative data (counts of individual health related events or services) –Surveys (sampling techniques) –Public health surveillance From:

Defining your data need Statistical info is gathered in a variety of ways, including: –By different geographical location Local State National International –At different frequency/chronology Every ten years (census) Every two years Annually Etc.

Who might have collected the data? “Health statistics are influenced by an organization’s perspective and bias. These biases can affect the collection device and eventual outcomes that are reported. They also can determine what data are collected and how the data are collected. Whenever possible, read the notes describing the reasons for and methods of data collection. Reminder that statistics are collected to meet the needs of the collector.” From:

Identifying potential sources of data

Statistical compendia & portal sites U.S. Census (statistical compendia) –Statistical Abstract of the United States –State and Metropolitan Area Data Book –County and City Data Book National Center for Health Statistics (CDC) FedStats State Health Facts Online (Kaiser Family Foundation) HHS Gateway to Data and Statistics Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce

National Center for Health Statistics -

FedStats -

Filtered links to data from various gov’t agencies.

HHS Gateway to Data & Stats -

Page 28 Partners -

Let’s try it out…sample scenario You are a family physician who cares for patients in a community with a very high teenage pregnancy rate. You are interested in gathering some statistical data to give you a better sense of contraception use – IUD use in particular - among teenagers.

Don’t forget PubMed! PubMed indexes published articles that report on statistics and numerical data collected.

PubMed –

MeSH -

Subheading – “Statistics and numerical data”

Let’s try it out…sample scenario You have a pregnant patient who is well aware that more and more women in the US are having cesarean sections. She would like to steer clear of NYC area hospitals that may over-prescribe this procedure. How can you find out what the rate for cesareans is at Columbia – New York Presbyterian Hospital?

MeSH -

~39%

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Page 61 Questions? Konstantina (Dina) Matsoukas, MLIS Head of Reference & Education Coordinator CUMC - Health Sciences Library tel Reference Desk:

Page 62 Further Reading Allee, Nancy (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI); Alpi, Kris (New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, NY); Cogdill, Keith (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD); Selden, Catherine (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD); Youngkin, Molly (University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT). Public health information and data: a training manual [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 2004 Available from: