This report was intended to facilitate planning and implementation decisions in Mississippi and lay out a framework for establishing a statewide health data program in Mississippi. This report can be used as a tool to solicit input across potential data suppliers and expected data users.

This document combines three key NAHDO papers that detail key analytic and methodological best practices for public health data dissemination. These papers are also listed individually in NAHDO Publications.

This document offers a guideline for states to develop a small areas scheme for analysis of health data, using small area analysis framework.

Public health agencies are increasingly disseminating health statistics on the Internet. Researchers are increasingly using public health data sets for health services research, including longitudinal and cross-market studies. Broader use and dissemination of public health data sets serves a public good, highlights public health’s important role.

Public health data when queried or displayed in web-based data tables can often have cells with a small number of individuals or events especially when the query is focused on small geographic areas (Zip codes) rare events, population subgroups, provider groups, payers, or other small samples.

The purpose of this document is to assist health data organizations develop and adopt best practices and policies that ensure that their public Web sites are a safe and secure environment for the collection, use and dissemination of health information.