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MODULE 2 · LESSON 2.8
Using PivotTables for Health Data Analysis
Estimated time: 25–30 minutes
WRITTEN ON THE BOARD
Welcome to Lesson 2.8. A PivotTable
Slide 1 of 3
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2.8.1 What is a PivotTable?
A PivotTable is an Excel feature that helps you summarise and compare large datasets without manually adding every record.
Suppose your dataset contains hundreds of records showing facility, month, service type and number of patients. You might want total attendance for each facility. Instead of writing a separate formula for every facility, you can use a PivotTable to summarise the records.
2.8.2 A simple example
| Facility | Month | Patients |
|---|---|---|
| Central Clinic | January | 120 |
| Riverside Clinic | January | 95 |
| Central Clinic | February | 135 |
| Riverside Clinic | February | 100 |
| Central Clinic | March | 110 |
| Riverside Clinic | March | 105 |
| Facility | Total patients |
|---|---|
| Central Clinic | 365 |
| Riverside Clinic | 300 |
| Grand Total | 665 |
The PivotTable helps us see the totals without manually adding each facility's records.
2.8.3 Creating a PivotTable
- Ensure your dataset has clear column headings.
- Select a cell within the dataset.
- Open the Insert tab.
- Select PivotTable.
- Confirm the source range.
- Choose where to place the PivotTable.
- Drag the Facility field into Rows.
- Drag the Patients field into Values.
- Confirm that the numerical field is being summarised using Sum when appropriate.
The exact interface depends on your Excel version.