Perinatal characteristics of women in Oklahoma: a comparison of communities.

Communities and local health systems are some of the most visible and important resources in protecting and promoting the health of their citizens. The development of a community-oriented framework for providing health and human services oversight and planning is necessary to ensure appropriate access and services are available to meet local needs. This community-based orientation requires accurate, useable, and timely information reflecting the needs and characteristics of a specific community. Information available through local health service providers, although useful, measures only those individuals served, not the entire population. It is critical that the health of individuals who do and do not access services be represented. Only by examining the health of the entire population can the healthrelated needs of a community as a whole be determined.