Health Data and Statistics

Resources

Finding & Using Health Statistics
This online tutorial “describes the range of available health statistics, identifies their sources and helps you understand how to use information about their structure as you search.” Offered by the National Library of Medicine.

Keep these things in mind when trying to locate data on a health-related topic:

Think in terms of major stakeholders. Who is likely to be responsible for keeping track of data on a particular health-related topic?
It takes time to compile data on a topic. The past few years may have to suffice as “recent” data.

Tools for Locating Health Data & Statistics

Some of these databases are broader in scope, covering much more than health topics. Most of these pages offer many more links to drill down to specific topics and resources.

American Community Survey (ACS)
Collected by the U.S Census Bureau; an ongoing survey that provides data every year. Survey samples the U.S population on topics such as age, sex, race, family, income, health insurance, education, disabilities, commuting, housing and more.

Data.gov
Searchable catalog of machine-readable data-sets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.

FastStats
A-Z topic list of statistics and data available from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health, United States
Annual report on trends in health statistics. Presents national trends in health statistics. Each report includes an executive summary, highlights, a chartbook, trend tables, extensive appendixes, and an index.

Health Services Research Information Central
A huge repository of data tools and statistics, including links to state and local resources.

Kaiser Family Foundation
Data on health care produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation as well as from other organizations. Includes data on each U.S. state.

Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce
An extensive list of sources and links to data on the health of a population. Includes tools for data collection and planning.

Resource Center for Minority Data (RCMD)
An initiative from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), at University of Michigan, which advances and expands social and behavioral research, acting as a global leader in data stewardship and providing rich data resources and responsive educational opportunities. The RCMD has not been updated since 2010 but has a lot of interesting data sets and national survey results.

WONDER: Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research
Provides a single point of access to a wide variety of public health reports and data systems produced by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Geographically Specific Statistics Finders

New York

Health Services Research Information Center
Find and explore NY state statistical sources in the drop down menus on this page.
Health Data New York
A searchable database of statistical information, including data on quality, cost, and safety, birth and death information, facilities and services, and environmental health.
NY State Dept. of Health|
Data and reports on an extensive list of health topics.
County Health Ratings
Annual rankings provide health snapshots of how health is influenced by where we live, learn, work, and play.
North Country Health Compass
Population health and socio-economic data, providing resources for community assessment, strategic planning, collaboration and advocacy. Covers St. Lawrence, Jefferson, and Lewis counties.

United States

America’s Health Rankings
Detailed analyses on the health of key populations in the country, including seniors, women and children, and those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
Coordinated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a state-based system of health surveys that collects information on health risk behaviors, preventive health practices, and health care access primarily related to chronic disease and injury. World’s largest telephone survey; it tracks health risks of adults in the US.
CDC Data & Statistics
Centers for Disease Control. Browse by topic or search the CDC data bank.
Health, United States
Annual report on trends in health statistics. Presents national trends in health statistics. Each report includes an executive summary, highlights, a chartbook, trend tables, extensive appendixes, and an index. Produced by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Health Services Research Information Central
Healthy People 2030
A science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. Contains many links to statistical data that represents benchmarks.
MedlinePlus Heath Statistics
National Library of Medicine (NLM). A variety of statistical resources on health topics.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: MMWR
Contains data on specific diseases as reported by state and territorial health departments and reports on infectious and chronic diseases, environmental hazards, natural or human-generated disasters, occupational diseases and injuries, and intentional and unintentional injuries. Also included are reports on topics of international interest and notices of events of interest to the public health community.
Mortality Data
One of the few sources of health-related data that are comparable for small geographic areas and are available for a long time period in the United States. The data are also used to present the characteristics of those dying in the United States, to determine life expectancy, and to compare mortality trends with other countries.
National Center for Health Statistics
National Health and Nutrition Examination (NHANES)
A program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. The survey is unique in that it combines interviews and physical examinations.
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
Principal source of information on the health of the civilian non-institutionalized population of the United States and is one of the major data collection programs. Interviewers are from the U.S. Census Bureau.

World