Chapter 6 6. The use of epidemiological data and other statistical data often involves gathering research and using it to help justify specific actions.
Data help to frame an issue, providing evidence for subsequent actions or planning.
Whether utilized by the public or private sectors, data can be used to plan programs, estimate burden of disease, profile patient characteristics, determine policies, assess outcomes, plan interventions, conduct health practices, perform evaluations, determine preferences, define clinical characteristics, provide investigational evidence, formulate and justify budgets, and allocate funds. Although data can be used to provide direct justification, this use is restricted by the current availability of complete, accurate, reliable, and relevant data. Many present data systems are the best possible to date, yet many are complicated by data collection perplexities, sampling issues, and methodological complexities that severely limit their use for specific applications. Thus, information about all populations is not available. Another example is the national data collection on a specific topic, such as cancer.