Population

No. 62. RELIGIOUS BODIES-SELECTED DATA-Continued

[See headnote, p. 45]

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

1 Includes pupils, officers, and teachers.

No. 63. RELIGIOUS BODIES-CHURCH MEMBERSHIP, 1950 TO 1971, AND NUMBER

OF CHURCHES, 1971

[Membership in thousands, except as indicated. See headnote, table 62. See also Historical Statistics, Colonial Times to 1957, series H 531-537]

Orthodox, Conservative, and Reformed Congregations.
1 Based on Bureau of the Census estimated total population as of July 1.
Day Saints" and "Jehovah's Witnesses." 4 Includes nonchristian bodies such as "Spiritualists," "Ethical
Includes nonprotestant bodies such as "Latter

Source of tables 62 and 63: National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, New
York, N. Y., Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, annual. (Copyright.)

Church Contributions

No. 64. RELIGIOUS BODIES-CHURCH CONTRIBUTIONS

47

In thousands of dollars, except as indicated. Data are for 42 U.S. Communions reporting in 1971 or 1972. Data are incomplete as not all U.S. churches have current data available. For additional data, see source]

Inclusive membership refers to those who are full, communicant, or confirmed members, plus other members listed as baptized, or nonconfirmed, or noncommunicant.

Source: National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, New York, N. Y., Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, annual. (Copyright.)

1 Birth and death rates for 1970, and all data for 1971 and 1972, preliminary.

Source: Chart prepared by U.S. Bureau of the Census. Data from U.S. Public Health Service.

Fig. V. OFFICE-BASED PRIVATE PHYSICIANS, BY TYPE OF PRACTICE: 1963 TO 1971

Source: Chart prepared by U.S. Bureau of the Census. Data from U.S. Public Health Service.

Section 2

Vital Statistics, Health, and Nutrition

This section presents vital statistics-data on births, deaths, fetal deaths (stillbirths), marriages, divorces-and data on communicable diseases, mental illness, medical care, hospitals, and nutrition. Vital statistics are compiled and published by the National Center for Health Statistics in the annual report, Vital Statistics of the United States, in certain reports of the Vital and Health Statistics series, and in the Monthly Vital Statistics Report. Reports in this field are also issued by State bureaus of vital statistics. Current data on fertility of the population and on age of persons at first marriage are compiled by the Bureau of the Census from its Current Population Survey (see text, p. 1) and published in Current Population Reports, series P-20.

Births and deaths.-The collection of death statistics on an annual basis began in 1900 with 10 registration States and the District of Columbia; the collection of birth statistics began in 1915, also with 10 States and the District of Columbia. The changing composition of the two registration areas makes it impossible to obtain geographically comparable birth and death data for the entire United States before 1933. Beginning 1933, the birth and death registration areas have comprised the entire United States, including Alaska beginning 1959 and Hawaii beginning 1960. National statistics on fetal deaths were compiled for 1918 and annually since 1922.

Before 1946, vital statistics for the United States were compiled by the Bureau of the Census. From 1946 until 1960 this function was located in the Bureau of State Services of the Public Health Service. In 1960 it became a part of the National Center for Health Statistics, now located in the Health Services and Mental Health Administration, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Prior to 1951, birth statistics were the result of a complete count of the records received in the Public Health Service (now in the National Center for Health Statistics). Since 1951, they have been based on a 50-percent sample of all registered births (except for 1955 when they reverted to a complete count and for 1967 when they were based on a 20-50 percent sample). Current provisional death statistics are based on a 10-percent sample of death certificates filed in State vital statistics offices. Fetal deaths (stillbirths) and deaths among Armed Forces abroad are excluded.

Mortality statistics are compiled in accordance with World Health Organization regulations, which specify that member nations classify causes of death according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries, and Causes of Death. The current classification, "Eighth Revision International Classification of Diseases, Adapted for Use in The United States," has been used beginning with 1968.

Marriages and divorces.-National collections of statistics on marriages and divorces in the United States were made for various years from 1867 to 1940 and for each year since 1944. Estimates have been made for intervening years and for years in which collections were not complete. A marriage-registration area was established by the Public Health Service in 1957, and a divorce-registration area in 1958. At the beginning of 1973, the marriage-registration area covered 41 States and 3 independent registration areas; the divorce-registration area, 29 States and 1 independent area. Vital statistics rates.-Vital statistics rates computed by the National Center for Health Statistics are based upon the enumerated population figures as of April 1 for 1940, 1950, 1960, and 1970 and upon the estimated midyear population figures for other years, provided by the Bureau of the Census unless otherwise noted.

1 For coverage of these areas, see Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1957, series B 1-5.

Medical care.-Historical data on national health expenditures, by source of public and private funds and by object of expenditure, are compiled by the Social Security Administration and appear annually in the Social Security Bulletin. From this series are derived estimates of total personal health care expenditures, private consumer expenditures for health services, and those portions of such expenditures met by private health insurance and third-party payments, which include private health insurance benefit payments, government expenditures, and philanthropy, and the expenditures of employers to maintain in-plant health facilities.

Data on physicians, dentists, nurses, and other providers of health services are published in the Health Manpower Source Book Series, Public Health Service Publication No. 263. A comprehensive compilation of data on some 35 categories of health occupations, three categories of inpatient health facilities, and outpatient and nonpatient health services is presented in the annual Health Resources Statistics, Public Health Service Publication No. 1509.

Statistics of hospitals are obtained from the American Hospital Association's annual survey of hospitals. They are published annually in Hospitals, Guide Issue, and cover all hospitals accepted for registration by the Association. To be accepted for registration, a hospital must meet certain requirements, as follows: It must have at least 6 beds for the care of nonrelated patients for an average stay of over 24 hours per admission; be constructed and equipped to insure safety of patients and to provide sanitary facilities for their treatment; have an organized medical staff, registered nurse supervision, and nursing care for round-the-clock patient care; maintain clinical records on all patients and submit evidence of patient care by doctors; provide minimal surgical and obstetrical facilities or relatively complete diagnostic and treatment facilities; have diagnostic X-ray and clinical laboratory services readily available; and offer services more intensive than those required merely for room, board, personal services, and general nursing care.

The Social Security Administration is another source of data for hospitals and nursing homes. These data, available by State for such institutions and for extended care facilities and home health agencies, are based on the Health Insurance for the Aged program (Medicare) begun in 1966. They differ from those of the American Hospital Association and other sources because they are limited to the facilities meeting Federal eligibility standards for participation in Medicare.

Data on persons receiving inpatient care in short-stay hospitals, resident patients in mental hospitals, and residents of homes for the aged and chronically ill are collected by the National Center for Health Statistics and presented in Vital and Health Statistics, Series 12 and 13; data on patient visits to physicians, dentists, and other providers of health care are furnished in Series 10.

Another aspect of medical care is provided by statistics on patients in hospitals for the mentally ill, psychiatric services of general hospitals, outpatient psychiatric clinics, and institutions for the mentally retarded. From 1923 to 1946, data on mental health were collected annually by the Bureau of the Census. been issued by the Public Health Service. From 1947 through 1966, hospital data Since 1946 they have appeared annually in Patients in Mental Institutions and, from 1959 through 1966, clinic data appeared in Data on Patients of Outpatient Psychiatric Clinics in the United States. In 1967, these data appeared in Mental Health Statistics, Scries A-Mental Health Facilities Reports. The 1968 and 1969 data are published as reference tables for the different types of facilities. Mental Health Statistics-Current Facility Reports presented provisional data through 1969. These are now in the Statistical Note series which also include special reports as they become available.

Statistics on institutional population based on the 1960 Census of Population include information on number and characteristics of persons in long-term hospitals, in homes and schools for the mentally and physically handicapped, and in homes for the aged and dependent (see table 60).