Health statistics are at the centre of an increasing number of worldwide health controversies. Several factors are sharpening the tension between the supply and demand for high quality health information, and the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provide a high-profile example. With thousands of indicators recommended but few measured well, the worldwide health community needs ...

Canada is, in many respects, culturally and economically similar to the United States, and until relatively recently, the two countries had similar health systems. However, since passage of the Canada Health Act in the 1970s, that nation's health statistics have become increasingly superior. Although the costs of Canada's health system are high by international standards, they are much lower th...

When public health practitioners use health statistics, sometimes they are interested in the actual number of health events, but more often they use the statistics to assess the true underlying risk of a health problem in the community. Observed health statistics, that is, those counts, rates or percentages that are computed or estimated from health surveys, vital statistics registries, or othe...

Together with representatives of Canada, England, and Wales, NCHS will hold a planning workshop in early 1990 to provide a foundation and mechanism for international collaborative research on high priority health issues. The workshop will provide a forum for supporting international health statistics programs; evaluating the utility of various statistical programs; and recommending their improv...