Statistics for Public Health

Running Head: Statistics for Public Health
Statistics for Public Health
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Statistics for Public Health
A telephone survey refers to a systematic framework of collecting data from a sample population
by use of standardized questionnaire (Leeuw, Hox, & Dillman, 2012). The research question is:
what are the demographic characteristics of the people neighboring Kwun Tong Community
Health Center and that which distinguishes between people seeking dental services and those not
seeking the service in the particular health center?
Discussion of Potential Sources of Population Data.
I would use the following data sources to select participants;
a) Census- it provides a compiled, evaluated, analyzed and published demographic, social
and economic data pertaining, for a defined time period, to all people in a country or in a
well delimited area of a country (McFarlane, 2014). For instance, census captures
demographic aspects such as age, gender, population density, literacy levels among other
elements. It forms one of the largest sources of data for population studies across the
world. Census are conducted after a defined period of time, usually 5 years of 10 years.
The actual data refer to a specific data and time called reference date that is achieved by
adjusting the figures for migration, births and deaths.
b) Civil Registration System- according to the United Nations, it is defined as the
compulsory and continuous permanent recording of the occurrence of critical events such
as deaths, live births, marriages, deaths of infants, divorces and separation, adoptions and
legitimations. Civil registration is done under law in order to provide a legal basis to the
certificates and records made from the system. It has various civil uses for the citizens on
their personal life. The information is obtained on a regular basis by various countries.
The records obtained have administrative uses in formulating and implementing
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Statistics for Public Health
programmes of public health and carrying out demographic, social and historical
research.
c) Sample surveys- it captures three systems, amongst them being the National Family
Health Surveys. The surveys provide varying forms of data ranging from fertility to
mortality indicators. Therefore, they are perceived to form an important source of
demographic data (Stimson, 2014).
d) Health Surveys- these are surveys carried out with an objective of evaluating
reproductive programmes and child health programmes. They provide data on fertility,
mortality of children and a number of health parameters which relate to adults and infants
at state level (Allender, Rector, & Warner, 2013). They also give relevant information on
the availability of family planning and health services to women in the reproductive ages
and pregnant mothers. The health surveys also capture data on various indicators which
relate to child health, problems of reproductive health and the quality of services
available to them.
The Advantages of using these Lists
i. They provide reliable data because they gather the information on individuals based on a
pre-demined and systematic framework.
ii. They provide a large scale data which include almost, if not all demographic aspects of a
population on different issues such as health, economic and social states of individuals.
iii. They provide relevant information on particular regions of a nation hence making it easy
to access such data for a study such as this.
The Disadvantages
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