Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to review the major sources of data on mortality, morbidity and health in Europe and in other developed regions in order to examine their potential for analysing mortality and morbidity levels and trends. The review is primarily focused on routinely collected information covering a whole country. No attempt is made to draw up an inventory of sources by country; the paper deals instead with the pros and cons of each source for mortality and morbidity studies in demography. While each source considered separately can already yield useful, though partial, results, record linkage among data sources can significantly improve the analysis. Record linkage can also lead to the detection of possible causal associations that could eventually be confirmed. More generally, Big Data can reveal changing mortality and morbidity trends and patterns that could lead to preventive measures being taken rather than more costly curative ones.
Highlights
The purpose of this paper is to review the major sources of data on mortality, morbidity and health in Europe and in other developed regions in order to examine their potential for analysing mortality and morbidity levels and trends in developed societies and to inform healthcare and health policies
Record linkage of multiple sources of data As this paper shows, multiple sources of data on mortality, morbidity and health are available in developed countries, and many characteristics of the individual—including socio-economic ones—are recorded
To conclude, numerous sources of data on mortality, morbidity and health are available in advanced societies
Summary
The purpose of this paper is to review the major sources of data on mortality, morbidity and health in Europe and in other developed regions in order to examine their potential for analysing mortality and morbidity levels and trends in developed societies and to inform healthcare and health policies. Our aim is to show the more relevant sources for evaluating health, morbidity and mortality at the individual level. No attempt is made to cover the developed countries exhaustively. The review is based on papers published in demography, epidemiology, and public health and on information drawn from the websites of the organisations collecting the data. The paper is primarily focused on routinely collected information covering a whole country or a major part of a country, in contrast to surveys for specific populations such as physician surveys.
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