1. Finding Health Statistics: Federal Sources You Should Know Deborah E. Hile November 10, 1999

2. Introduction n Why federal web resources? n What types of statistics are available? n What methods are used for gathering statistics? n What does the data look like?

3. Why federal web resources? n Government sites have a strong web presence. n Agencies at all levels generate statistics. n Statistical information widely available on the World Wide Web. n Public domain & easy to acquire.

4. Types of Statistics n Raw numbers n Percentages n Rankings n Probabilities

5. Methods for Gathering & Calculating n Censuses n Surveys/Questionnaires n Panels n Tests n Experiments

6. What does the data look like? n Full-text n Abstracts n Citations n Graphs, tables, charts

7. Federal Sources You Should Know n FEDSTATS n MMWR Weekly Report n National Center for Health Statistics n U.S. Bureau of the Census

8. Why should I know these sites? Evaluation Criteria: n Currency of information n Methods clearly explained n Usability of the web site n Additional software required?

9. FEDSTATS http://www.fedstats.gov http://www.fedstats.gov

10. FEDSTATS http://www.fedstats.gov http://www.fedstats.gov n What is the incidence of the common cold? n What are the 10 leading states reporting the highest # of AIDS cases among residents? n What is the percentage of children under age 18 in very good or excellent health by poverty status?

11. MMWR Weekly Report http://www2.cdc.gov/mmwr/ http://www2.cdc.gov/mmwr/

12. MMWR Weekly Report http://www2.cdc.gov/mmwr/ http://www2.cdc.gov/mmwr/ n What are the ten leading causes of death? n In 1998, how many confirmed cases of Salmonella infections were identified? n What is the pregnancy success rate with assisted reproductive technology (ART)?

13. National Center for Health Statistics http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/ http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/

14. National Center for Health Statistics http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/ http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/ n What is the number of Americans estimated to be 65 years of age and over in 2030? n What do trends indicate about expectant mothers and smoking? n In 1997, what was the average length of hospital stay for patients with HIV?

15. U.S. Bureau of the Census http://www.census.gov http://www.census.gov n What is the number of people under age 18 living in poverty in Salt Lake County, Utah?

16. Wrap Up: Web Searching Tips n Avoid search engines to locate statistics. n Use government agencies as starting points. n Search individual sites using terms: study, data, poll, report, survey, and research. n Narrow results being format-specific: figure, table, chart, graph, and caption.

17. Wrap Up: Web Searching Tips n Do not attempt to search for specific numbers. n Use “number-indicating” words: increase, decline, rise, fastest-growing, odds, and probability.

18. Thank you for your time! Deborah E. Hile 587-9247 dhile@lib.med.utah.edu