Eastern Mediterranean Regional Health System Observatory

The Health systems database is a computerized source of health statistics that allows comparison of key health system indicators overtime and across countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). It contains statistical data for over 130 health system indicators and time series data from 1990-2005 for 22 countries of the region. In addition, selected desegregated data is available by gender and by rural and urban residence.

The database has been developed in collaboration with EST unit to meet the needs of policy makers and analysts for sound and reliable information about health systems of the countries in the region. It provides quick access to specialized information about various components and functions of health systems for individual countries or selected groups of countries of the EMR.

There are two different options to access the database. First, the Quick reference is a simple and common way of generating tables and charts. With this query system, users can construct tables and charts for any combination of countries, indicators, population subgroups and years.In addition, it allows grouping of data by year and by country as well as an option to print the displayed data. Second, the Query manager is more advanced and flexible. Using pivot tables and the OLAP technology, it offers several functions and choices to access, analyze, display, export and save the data. It also provides GIS functionality where users can generate thematic maps to display both historical and comparative data.

The database combines data from country sources with WHO estimates to provide information dating back as far as 1990. Because the year of estimation has been used (instead of year of reporting) the amount of information available for each country may vary. In addition, several new indicators have been added for which currently no information is available, however we are in the process of collecting the missing information to fill in the gaps. Since EMR Health system observatory is an ongoing initiative, the database along with other materials will be expanded and regularly updated to provide most complete, reliable and up to date information.

The major categories of data available in the database include:

· Socioeconomic factors

· Health status indicators

· Demographic indicators

· Health care financing and expenditure

· Human and material resources

· Primary health care coverage

· Morbidity statistics

· Governance

· Health information systems

· Pharmaceuticals

Data characteristics:

· Temporal: Selected years, 1990 to present

· Spatial: 22 countries in EMR.

· Selected data by urban/rural residence, and by gender

Sources of the data:

The health system database relies basically on two sources of information:

1. Demographic and Health Indicators of Countries of the EMR, produced annually by EMRO;