Transcript SCHS and Health Statistics

State Center for Health Statistics
Division of Public Health
NC Dept. of Health and Human Services
SCHS Vision Statement
The State Center for Health Statistics, by providing highquality information on the health of North Carolinians, will
positively influence decision-making and health policy,
thereby improving the health of all our citizens. By
making better use of our human and technical resources,
we strive to provide health data to policy makers,
researchers, and citizens as efficiently and quickly as
possible. Internally, the State Center seeks to create a better
work environment, resulting in both successful employees
and satisfied customers.
SCHS Provides:
A source of information for monitoring the
health condition of North Carolinians
 Analyses of important health issues, such as
birth defects and infant mortality
 A central collection site for information
about cancer, birth defects, births, deaths,
and hospitalizations
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SCHS Provides:
Accurate and timely information for use in
setting health policy, planning prevention
programs, directing resources, and
evaluating the effect of health programs and
services
 A safe and secure environment for its
confidential records
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SCHS Responsibilities
Collecting data
 Producing reports
 Providing technical assistance to public
health and human services program
managers
 Research and evaluation of health issues
 Maintaining a comprehensive collection of
health statistics to answer requests for
information
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History of SCHS
Created as the NC Bureau of Vital Statistics
by the State Legislature in 1913
 Evolved by 1980 into the State Center for
Health Statistics, with a mission of leading
the way on health statistics initiatives
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State Center for Health Statistics
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Data are available through publications,
presentations, our web site, and by request
to State Center staff.
Data Available from SCHS
Births
 Deaths
 Fetal deaths
 Pregnancies
 Birth defects
 Cancer cases
 Communicable diseases
 Hospital discharges
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SCHS Publications
NC Vital Statistics, Volumes 1 and 2
 Basic Automated Birth Yearbook
(BABYBOOK)
 NC Detailed Mortality Statistics
 NC Reported Pregnancies
 SCHS Studies
 Statistical Briefs and Primers
 NC Health Statistics Pocket Guide
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SCHS Units
Birth Defects Monitoring Program
 Central Cancer Registry
 Geographic Analysis
 Statistical Services
 Operations, Quality Control, and
Administration
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SCHS Staff
1 Director
 5 Managers
 5 Administrative and Operations Support
Staff
 22 Field Staff and Quality Control Staff
 27 Statisticians
 4 Applications Programmers, Computing
Consultants, and GIS Specialists
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Birth Defects Monitoring Program
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Collects data on the incidence of major birth
defects in NC through field staff and selected data
sources
Responds to inquiries about the occurrence of
birth defects in specific communities
Provides data needed to help design, target, and
evaluate public health programs
Improves the delivery of services to children with
special needs through identification and referral to
appropriate services
Central Cancer Registry
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Collects data on new cases of cancer in NC
through field staff and cooperation with hospital
tumor registries
Responds to inquiries about perceived cancer
clusters in specific communities
Produces information on cancer to help target
resources for health education and screening
Works with university and other researchers on
investigations into the causes and treatment of
cancer
Geographic Analysis Unit
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Provides GIS technical support to public health
and other DHHS divisions
Responds to requests for GIS services from local
health departments, other health agencies,
universities, and the public
Supports State Center research, publications, and
presentations by providing maps and other spatial
analysis
Maintains the State Center website and provides
website support to other DPH sections
Operations Unit
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Responsible for the day-to-day management of
fiscal, personnel, training, and facilities/repair
functions within the State Center
Facilitates the operations of the programmatic
units while ensuring that the State Center complies
with all DHHS and DPH policies and requests
Responsible for tracking and monitoring
purchases, payments, contracts, grants, and assets
Statistical Services Unit
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Answers hundreds of requests a year from all
segments of North Carolina’s population
Maintains and links together various data sets
enabling the State Center to do comprehensive
data analysis and program evaluation
Publishes a number of special research and
evaluation studies and about six annual
publications
Provides extensive data analyses and reports for
state and local public health agencies
Statistical Services Unit
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Presents educational and training sessions to
public health professionals, university students,
and other groups on data use, analysis, and
interpretation
Carries our special analyses of the Health Services
Information System (HSIS), Medicaid, Health
Choice, and hospital discharge data files
Produces an annual online County Data Book as
part of the Community Health Assessment Process
Selected Projects
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Support to the NC Institute of Medicine’s Latino
Health Task Force
Women’s Health Report Card
Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Report Card
Health Profile of Older North Carolinians
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
(BRFSS)
Pregnancy Risk Factor Surveillance System
(PRAMS)
Selected Projects
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“Running the Numbers” column in the NC
Medical Journal
Evaluation of child participation in WIC
Analysis of hospital discharge and Medicaid data
to estimate the number of medically fragile
children in North Carolina and their medical costs
Data entry, editing, and analysis of Adolescent
Pregnancy Prevention Program surveys about
sexual behavior and attitudes
Selected Projects
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Work with the UNC Sheps Center for Health
Services Research, the Women’s and Children’s
Health Section of DPH, and the Division of
Medical Assistance to evaluate expanded
Medicaid coverage of family planning services
Special public health surveys
Contact Information
State Center for Health Statistics
 1908 Mail Service Center
 Raleigh, NC 27699-1908
 Phone: (919) 733-4728
 Fax: (919) 733-8485
 Web Site: www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/
 [email protected] 715-4478
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