Data and Social Policy: No Data, No Problem"

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Data and Social PolicyNo Data, No Problem"

• Alek A. Sripipatana, MPHWINCART Policy
  CoordinatorResearch Associate, UCLA Center for
  Health Policy Research

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Overview

• Policy making process
• Data/empirical evidence informs the policy making
  process
• Examples of data importance in policymaking
• 1. Having data
• 2. Not having data

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Policy ProcessRational policy cycle (Weissert
and Weissert, 2002)
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Data and Research Are Important in Policy Process

• Identifying Policy-Relevant Problem
• Anecdotal accounts helpful to personalize
  problems and grabbing attention of media, public
  and legislators
• But data essential to showing problem affects
  enough people or has social impact severe enough
  to warrant policy intervention
• Putting an issue on policy agenda
• No data, No problem
• Developing Solutions to Problem
• Research important in developing effective
  solutions to problem
• What causes or contributes to problem?
• What works in reducing or eliminating problem?
• Policy Evaluation -- What worked? What didnt
  work?
• Research and evaluation critical to tracking
  progress in addressing problem

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Examples of Data and Policy

• Having data
• Massachusetts universal health care plan
  (McDonough, 2000)

• Not having data
• Expanding access to health insurance in Missouri
  (H.B. 1622) (Frank and Kivlahan, 1997)

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Data Informs Policy Decisions

• Identifying the size and scope of a problem
• Mark Twain
• Lies, damn lies, and statistics

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Disaggregating Data
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No Data, No problem
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Disaggregating Data
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Data Informs Policy Decisions

• Native Hawaiian all-site cancer mortality rates
  are the second highest of all/race ethnic groups
  in the US (second to African Americans).
• Age-adjusted, sex- and site-specific cancer rates
  are higher among Marshallese in just about every
  category in comparison to US rates.