Epidemiology and Social Determinants of Global Health as the Basis for Education and Research

This chapter describes the importance of using standard data for decision-making at local and national levels on reportable diseases and conditions of public health significance. In addition, the chapter will provide an overview of the use of data to monitor interventions and detect outbreaks and emerging conditions. Lastly, this chapter will cover the importance of data, data sources, key indicators of childhood health, the role of millennium and sustainable goals, and training needs. In all health care settings, whether population based or institution specific, the importance of effective use of data for planning and monitoring cannot be overstated. Implementing interventions and programs, even those that are evidence based, without the benefit of a local needs assessment and continuous data monitoring may not succeed due to erroneous targeting and inability to monitor progress. To ensure that public health and clinical programs are targeted to the setting and population in which they will be implemented, standard data collection and analysis is critical. The use of standard indicators allows for comparison across countries or regions.