Sources of Data Investigation - Essay Example

The sources are imperative as they help in offering fast facts and information about the health status of the children living in the US. In addition, they offer sound information, and gather, and share data on injuries that have caused violent deaths among children. Consequently, this offers the stakeholders a more accurate comprehension of various causes of tragic deaths among children, ensuring that the policymakers as well as the societal leaders make sound decisions on ways in which violence and injuries can be minimized. Moreover, with such sources, there is a high likelihood of coming up with related programs to prevent injuries and address issues of child maltreatment. In addition, the WISQARS is an essential source of data since it offers up-to-date information on national injury-oriented mortality as well as morbidity. In that case, such data is used in research work as well as making sound decisions on public health and ways to reduce related cases and improve the health of children (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). In that case, with such a database, the media, researchers, medical professionals, and the public can learn about children’s health and some of the economic burdens that are associated with violence-oriented or unintentional injuries. On the same note, it helps the users to sort, search, create reports, maps, and charts, as well as view injury-based data on the intent of the injuries, the causes, the regions in the body, nature, geographic location, and the sex of the victims. Furthermore, under the CDC sources, there is the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP). It is an informative database that offers factual information on the causes as well as the types of non-fatal injuries that are treated in American hospitals. Therefore, the CDC databases are imperative in helping understand childhood injuries since they offer information on the causes and the types, allowing the stakeholders to come up with practical solutions to reduce cases of injuries (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).

Although the CDC data sources have several benefits, they also have their drawbacks. Most of them focus on the types and causes but do not offer viable solutions on ways in which such injuries can be prevented. Therefore, it is the work of the researcher and the public to come up with intervention methods, which might not be viable in some cases. Additionally, sources such as the WISQARS have restrictions whereby the data collected can only be used only in the analysis as well as statistical reporting. It is also to be noted that the information given might not be accurate since death counts of nine or fewer are not published or registered; making it difficult for the analysis (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012).

Some of the Federal Data Sources are the "Drug Abuse Warning Network, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health" (NSDUH), and the Administration for Children and Families. The latter offers national and state data on cases of child abuse as well as neglect. In that case, they provide annual data on their findings and ways in which cases of neglect cause injuries among children. Therefore, such a source is imperative for the researchers in coming up with mechanisms in which they can work with the public to reduce cases of maltreatment, aggression, and neglect. The Drug Abuse Warning Network is another major surveillance source that helps in monitoring drug-oriented injuries, hospital visits, and deaths. Therefore, it helps in tracking the effects of drug misuse, abuse, and use in America. Finally, the NSDUH helps in examining behaviors that cause injuries such as suicidal thoughts, neglect, and psychological abuse among others (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).

Just like the CDC, the Federal data sources focus on collecting data on ways in which injury-related cases impact the nation and their causes but fail to offer sound intervention measures. In that case, it becomes the role of the relevant stakeholders to come up with means and ways in which they can develop strategic measures to deal with the victims and prevent cases of injuries among children (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).