Finding Health Statistics

This site provides information on the current state of the American health care system. HHS recognizes the importance of providing high-quality, accessible, and timely information for entrepreneurs, researchers, and policy makers to help drive insights and better health outcomes for all.

NHANES is 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.

NHIS data on a broad range of health topics are collected through personal household interviews. Survey results have been instrumental in providing data to track health status, health care access, and progress toward achieving national health objectives.

The Area Health Resources Files (AHRF) include data on Health Care Professions, Health Facilities, Population Characteristics, Economics, Health Professions Training, Hospital Utilization, Hospital Expenditures, and Environment at the county, state and national levels, from over 50 data sources.

This web site provides access to the 50 state reports, ranking each county within the 50 states according to its health outcomes and the multiple health factors that determine a county’s health.

Provides in-depth State and local area data to meet various program and policy needs in an ever-changing health care system.

Tutorial providing instruction for public health workers and students on finding statistics and other information resources. Excellent tutorials on Health Statistics & Data Sets and Evidence-Based Public Health.

Article illustrating how researchers evaluated secondary data sources for a specific research study.

Citation:
Pearce A, Jenkins R, Kirk C, Law C. An evaluation of UK secondary data sources
for the study of childhood obesity, physical activity and diet. Child Care Health
Dev. 2008 Nov;34(6):701-9. PubMed PMID: 18985838.

Article discussing how to evaluate secondary data sources. Discusses advantages, disadvantages, and assessment strategies.
Complete citation:
Sorensen HT, Sabroe S, Olsen J. A framework for evaluation of secondary data
sources for epidemiological research. Int J Epidemiol. 1996 Apr;25(2):435-42.
Review. PubMed PMID: 9119571.