The following data shown is being used to determine healthcare decisions made by our government that will affect our future and the future of our children.

Data-Supported Decision Making

            How can data support our decision making in everyday life?  Does it matter where the data comes from? How can we make sure that the data used to make decisions is reliable?  These questions are key when trying to make an informed decision based on data.  According to Trapp (2018), “Thanks to ever more sophisticated technology, it is much easier to obtain data – and to analyze it – than was thought possible even a few years ago.”  Data-supported decision are used on a regular basis in companies, organizations, and even in our everyday lives on a much simpler scale.  Our government and healthcare industries use data to make decisions that will affect not only the United States, but the entire world.  Therefore, the data used to make these decisions must be based on thorough and all-encompassing, non-biased information.  According to Government Executive (2019), “the president’s management agenda argues that “creating a data strategy and infrastructure for the future” is one of the key drivers of government reform.”  The data used to support the decision making of our future healthcare system is vital in determining the type of healthcare professionals needed, the type of healthcare education initiatives needed, and the appropriate amount and use of tax-payer dollars that should go towards supporting this cause.

Data Analytics Shown

            The following data has been retrieved from the Data.gov website where the dataset from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has been posted.  This dataset presents the ten leading causes of death in the United States beginning in 1999.  The data is based on medical information listed on all resident death certificates filed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

To view the interactive data above, click on the link below:

The graph shows that the leading causes of death since 1999 have been heart disease and cancer.  These numbers reflect the amount of media coverage and support given to those diseases.  There has been a steady increase in deaths related to Alzheimer’s and unintentional injuries.  Death by stroke has slightly decreased.  Death by diabetes, kidney disease, and influenza and pneumonia have shown slight changes, but for the most part have maintained at the same rate.   Suicide is at the bottom of the list, but it has shown an increase in prevalence since 1999.  This explains the recent initiatives making headway in our media that focus on the importance of investing in mental health awareness.

            The NCHS is part of the federal statistical system that is responsible for collecting, analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting data that will be used to make decisions and answer key questions about our future healthcare system.  The NCHS obtains its data from a variety of survey methods including personal interviews, standardized physical exams, and the review of facility exams and patient medical records.  The data is used by policy makers, researchers, businesses, public health professionals, physicians, and media and advocacy groups (NCHS, 2019).  Therefore, as stated by the NCHS (2019), the quality of this data is held to the “the highest possible standards for survey design, questionnaire development, and data collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination.” Without groups such as the NCHS, we would not have access to the data collected in the above graph.

References:

Government Executive. (2019). Using data to support decision making. Retrieved July 21, 2019, from https://www.govexec.com/assets/using-data-support-decision-making-q3-2019/portal/

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).  (2019). Health statistics: measuring our nation’s health.  Retrieved July 21, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/factsheets/factsheet_health_statistics.htm

National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics data available. Mortality multiple causefiles. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/vitalstatsonline.htm.

Trapp, R.  (2018). How leaders can get better at using data to make decisions.  Retrieved July 21, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogertrapp/2018/09/24/how-to-get-better-at-using-data-to-make-decisions/#cd5337233c7d