Final answer:
Registers and registries provide a primary source of patient information for assessing and monitoring population health. Health agencies obtain data about diseases through vital statistics registries, censuses, and epidemiological studies. Notifiable diseases are tracked and reported by health agencies to inform the public and health-care providers.
Step-by-step explanation:
Registers and registries represent a primary source of patient information, which provides facilities, providers, and public health officials with information needed to assess and monitor the health of a given population.
Health agencies obtain data about the incidence of diseases of public health importance through various means. One way is through vital statistics registries, which track births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and migrations. Another source is censuses conducted by national governments, which collect information such as age, sex, marital status, education, employment status, and occupation.
Epidemiological studies track notifiable diseases and provide data that inform health-care providers and the public about possible risks. Health agencies, such as the CDC, publish reports like the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) to share updates on public health issues and data related to notifiable diseases.