Healthcare Statistics & Datasets Guide

Data and Statistics tend to be equated, but they are two different processes.  Data is the raw information and statistics are the summary or interpretation eg. a description, numbers in a chart or a graph. 

Health data and statistics can be difficult to find. Some of the things that make this so challenging are:

• health data is collected by many government, non-governmental and private agencies and organizations working at the international, national, state and local levels, resulting in a non-centralized pool of data  
• data quality, collection methodology and accessibility will vary.
• data collection and sharing takes time and resources
• a time lag exists between time of collection and availability of data
• data prior to 1956 was not collected in a National Health Survey (may be found in primary sources or in scholarly research articles)

Adapted from: Cornell University Library. Finding Health Data and Statistics: Getting Started. August 19, 2019

Learn more about finding and using health statistics

"Worldwide the demand for health workers is expected to double to 80 million health workers by 2030 leaving a global shortfall of 18 million health workers in primarily low and lower-middle income countries." Health Labour Market. WHO Health Workforce. August 2019