Sources Of Demographic Health Info Flashcards
What is demography? Why is it studied?
The study of the size, structure, dispersement and development of human populations
Establish reliable statistics on population size and distribution, birth and death rates, life expectancy and migration
Outline a source of demographic information
UK Census: simultaneous recording of demographic data by the government at a particular time pertaining to all the persons who live in a particular territory
How often is the Census done? What data is included in it?
Every 10 years - next one is 2021
Demographic data (age/sex) Cultural characteristics (ethnicity/religion) Material deprivation (employment/home ownership/overcrowding/car access/lone parents) Health (general/long-term/unpaid care) Workplace and journey to work
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the UK census?
Quality of health information is assessed as CART
Completeness: 98% completion of the census
Accuracy: self-reported
Representative: low enumeration of some groups but data available for different levels
Timeliness: every 10 years
Access: view it online
What information from the Census is useful for health workers?
Population size and structure (old/young/ethnic minorities) to identify service needs
Base population to look at rates of change
Measures of material deprivation to identify and target health inequalities as a result
What is the process of birth registration? What are the 3 measures of fertility?
Birth notification by birth attendant within 36 hours
Birth registration by parent within 42 days to local registrar for births/marriages/death
Office for national statistics - birth statistics updated
Crude birth rate = live births/1000
General fertility rate = live births/1000 women ages 15-44 (child bearing age)
Total fertility rate = number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with current age-specific fertility rates
What’s the process of death registration?
Medical certificate of cause of death issued by doctor (certifies fact of death, age/place, information on cause)
Informant takes certificate to local registrar for births/marriages/deaths within 5 days to register the death
ONS updates mortality statistics and cause is coded using ICD-10
Outline population estimates: how it’s estimated and strengths/weaknesses
Estimates population size and structure between each census
(Census baseline) + births - (deaths + migration)
Strengths: more up to date than census and more accurate than population projections
Weaknesses: less reliable with time course, poor information on migration and doesn’t say anything about future
Outline population projections: strengths & weaknesses
Forecast future population size and structure based on assumptions of mortality, fertility and migration
Strengths: can be used for long term planning
Weaknesses: less accurate the further ahead it projects and unforeseen changes of past trends can invalidate projections
Why is population estimates and projections needed?
For planning services/resource allocation
What’s NCRAS?
National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service
Cancer diagnosis triggers registration to allow monitor of cancer rates, evaluate/improve treatment, screening programmes and aid research
Strengths: details information continuously updated and record linkage to cancer deaths (ONS)
Weaknesses: expensive and access is difficult due to confidentiality
What are 2 ways NHS data is collected?
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)
Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)
What information is collected in HES? What are it’s 2 coding systems?
Personal, clinical information, administrative data, geographical information
ICD-10 to describe conditions treated/investigated as per 22 particular chapters
OPCS-4 which records details of operations
What does QOF record?
Linked to GP payments to improve care by rewarding good practice (point scoring system)
Clinical - managing common conditions
Public health - primary prevention
Public health additional services - cervical screening, contraception
Compare QOF and HES
HES provides completeness as covers all hospital activity, accurate as standard codes used and representative but it’s weakness is accessibility to individual data
QOF doesn’t include practices that don’t participate and not clear how accurate the disease registers are, representative for all population at a surgery, updated annually
