Community Health Information Resource Guide: Volume 1 - Data

Abstract

This resource guide contains useful information for those who would like to use data to assess the health status of an Indiana community. Targeted users include local organizations such as county health departments and community health coalitions.

Being able to access and use relevant data and information resources is a common hurdle for those interested in assessing and advancing community health. As a result of this need and at the request of the Community Advisory Council of the Community Health Engagement Program, we developed this resource guide to assist individuals, organizations, and coalitions in Indiana in identifying appropriate resources that guide their community health research and evaluation activities.

The term “data” is used in this volume in reference to both data and information sources. While data consist of raw facts and figures, information is formed by analyzing the data and applying knowledge to it so that the findings are more meaningful and valuable to the community. The benefit of using data is that you can often manipulate it for your specific purposes. The benefit of using information sources is that the work of generating meaning from the data might already have been done, while a potential downside is that the available sources might not answer your specific questions.

There are diverse sources of data that can be used as a basis for community health evaluation and decision making. Those looking to use data must consider multiple factors before determining the appropriate data to seek and use.