WHO MD - sporedata/researchdesigneR GitHub Wiki

General description

The WHO Mortality Database (WHO-MD) is maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO) and provides detailed mortality statistics from member countries worldwide. It includes data on causes of death, demographics, and trends over time, supporting global health assessments and policy-making.

Benefit and categories

Benefits

Researchers benefit from the WHO-MD in the following ways:

  • Global Coverage: Access to mortality data from a wide range of countries, enabling cross-country comparisons and global health analyses.
  • Standardized Data: Utilizes standardized classification systems (such as ICD-10) for causes of death, ensuring data comparability across regions and time periods.
  • Longitudinal Studies: Longitudinal data availability allows for trend analysis and assessment of health interventions' impact over time.
  • Epidemiological Research: Supports epidemiological studies by providing insights into disease patterns and mortality rates worldwide.

Categories

The WHO-MD includes data categories such as:

  • Demographics: Age-specific mortality rates, gender-specific mortality rates, population data.
  • Causes of Death: Detailed information on specific causes of death categorized by ICD codes.
  • Geographical Coverage: Mortality data by country, region, and income level.

Limitations

  1. Data Lag: Reporting delays may affect the timeliness of mortality statistics, especially in low-resource settings.
  2. Data Variability: Data quality may vary between countries due to differences in reporting standards and healthcare infrastructure.
  3. Privacy Concerns: Individual-level data may be anonymized, limiting detailed analyses at the individual level.

Related publications

Data access

The WHO-MD is publicly accessible at Data Access