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Data Use in Public Health

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Healthcare Information Management Systems

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Abstract

Public health is the science of promoting health, preventing diseases, and prolonging life in human populations through society’s organized efforts. Worldwide, local, national, and international public health organizations and governments have established data collection systems that vary depending on local needs, available resources, and infrastructure. This chapter introduces the reader to public health data sources and the basics of monitoring disease risk and burden and allocating health resources to implement and evaluate interventions. Advances in information technology and data science have provided innovative tools and data sources for public health. Hence, we will broadly describe the application of big data in public health. Finally, we incorporated a case study to illustrate the public health approach in health outcome disparity assessment among the vulnerable populations in the United States during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology Branch, Durham, NC, USA

    Musa A. Kana

  2. John G. Rangos, Sr. School of Health Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Ahmad Khanijahani & Faina Linkov

  3. Department of Community Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria

    Ismail A. Raji

  4. South African Medical Research Council, Cochrane South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa

    Abdu Adamu

Authors
  1. Musa A. Kana
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  2. Ahmad Khanijahani
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  3. Ismail A. Raji
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  4. Abdu Adamu
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  5. Faina Linkov
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Joan M. Kiel

  2. The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    George R. Kim

  3. The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA

    Marion J. Ball

Appendix: Answers and Explanations to Review Questions

Appendix: Answers and Explanations to Review Questions

  • Question 1: The correct answer is b.

  • The notification of diseases by health workers in health facilities that are required by law is a form of passive surveillance. These diseases are called notifiable diseases. However, surveillance that employs household surveys or the use of cohort study designs by observing different groups based on exposure status for over some time are forms of active surveillance that require more resources.

  • Question2: The correct answer is c

  • Conducting an intervention study is not one of the tools used to evaluate public health data. However, the intervention study's impact can be evaluated by using systematic reviews, economic evaluation, public health surveillance and use of expert panels and consensus conferences.

  • Question 3: The correct answer is b

  • See Fig. 12.1

  • Question 4: The correct answer is e

  • Community-based research in public health does not only focus on only social inequalities. It also focuses on inequalities in structural and physical environmental inequalities by involving community members, representatives of relevant organizations and researchers in different aspects of the research process

  • Question 5: The correct answer is b

  • See Fig. 12.3

  • Question 6: The correct answer is e

  • Big data is not big because it contains only videos and audios. It is big data because of the share volume of data.

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Kana, M.A., Khanijahani, A., Raji, I.A., Adamu, A., Linkov, F. (2022). Data Use in Public Health. In: Kiel, J.M., Kim, G.R., Ball, M.J. (eds) Healthcare Information Management Systems. Health Informatics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07912-2_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07912-2_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-07911-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-07912-2

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