A variety of data sources can be used to generate health analysis and evidence for public health purpose. Data sources vary from country to country, depending on the level of development of health services and other institutions and availability of human, economic and other resources. In general, data on the demographic characteristics of the population can be obtained from the census or the National Vital Statistics Institutes.
Regarding health data, usable sources of data potentially include the surveillance systems for mandatory diseases, hospital discharges, routine registry reports or special surveys. Despite the fact that most morbidity data available in the countries would not be representative of the whole population, this information has the potential to produce evidence for health policies.
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