A major source of data for public health assessments. The identification, review, and evaluation of health
outcome parameters are interactive processes involving the health assessors, data source generators, and the
local community. Health outcome data are community specific and may be derived from databases at the
local, state, and national levels, as well as from data collected by private health care organizations and
professional institutions and associations. Databases to be considered include morbidity and mortality data,
birth statistics, medical records, tumor and disease registries, surveillance data, and previously conducted
health studies.