Analytical Methods
Title: How to collect, calculate, analyze and present health data
Author/Sponsor: Pennsylvania Department of Health
Description: A technical assistance site providing two options:
- "TOOLS of the TRADE": This is a series of special reports that present, discuss and provide tools of various statistical measurements, analytical methods, graphics, and data collection and processing methods commonly used with health statistics.
- “Small area analysis” provides a step by step flow chart for calculating reliable rates and for comparing rates and percentages, as well as a link to a discussion on using Bayesian and Nearest Neighbor Rates for small numbers.
Link: http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/cwp/view.asp?a=175&q=201981
Title: Health Data; Data Guidelines
Author/Sponsor: Washington State Department of Health
Description: This site links to guidelines that focus on issues commonly encountered in public health practice, specifically public health assessment. Background and content on the topic, definitions, guidelines, and examples are provided.
Topics covered include:
- Address Matching and Geocoding Data
- Confidence Intervals for Public Health Assessment
- Human Subjects Review
- Population Denominators
- Racial and Ethnic Groups in Data Analyses
- Rates for Public Health Assessment
- Rural-Urban Classification Systems for Public Health Assessment
- Small Numbers
Link: http://www.doh.wa.gov/Data/Guidelines/guidelines.htm
Data Release
Web based data dissemination/query systems
Title: Evaluation of State Web-based Systems for the Dissemination of Health-related Data. A guide and Model Prototype
Author/Sponsor: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Description: The CDC, through a contract with ORC Macro, Inc., undertook a three-year evaluation of current public health agency Web-based data dissemination systems and practices. The link below takes the user to a title page that provides information on the evaluation and links to the products of this evaluation. The final products (listed on the bottom of the title page) may be useful resources:
- A Guide for Public Health Agencies Developing, Adopting, or Purchasing Interactive Web-based Data Dissemination Systems. Includes a consolidated list of processes, standards, and checklists. Information is primarily for designers, developers, or purchasers, and focuses on best practices that maximize user experience.
- Model prototype - A non-deployable prototype of a Web-based data dissemination system. The model prototype is a static system that replicates the kind of system a state may want to develop, adopt, or purchase. It demonstrates the best practices of a user-centered design process and the key features that are valued by the user community and its stakeholders.
Link: http://www.cdc.gov/ncphi/disss/nndss/asb/orcmacro.htm
Title: Management and Institutional Controls for Reducing Disclosure Risk in Web-based Data Dissemination of Public Health Data: Guidelines and Resources for Health Data
Author /Sponsor: National Association of Health Data Organization (NAHDO)
Description: A document that describes a variety of methods that can be adopted to reduce disclosure risk and includes their strengths and limitations. References are made to state systems that have adopted these approaches.
Link: http://nahdo.org/cs/filestorage/communityserver.components.postattachments/00/00/00/01/64/reducing_disclosure_risk.pdf