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Article: Data Sources and Collection Methods
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Public Health
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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DATA SOURCES AND COLLECTION METHODS
Health data are the facts that, when assembled and analyzed, yield the information required by health care planners, providers, and users in order to maintain effective and efficient public health services. Potential sources of information about health are numerous and diverse, but in practice four main sources are used: medical records, certificates of vital and other health-related events, responses in surveys, and facts obtained in the course of conducting research. An interesting fifth source, unobtrusive data, is also considered here.
MEDICAL RECORDS
Even the simplest medical records contain something in each of the following categories:
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