Library Guides: Health Statistics & Data: National & Int'l Statistics

National Statistics

AHA Guide to the Health Care Field
Provides hospital utilization data in the US.
AHA Hospital Statistics
Compare trends in hospital utilization and personnel by bed size category and geography with over 150 service lines.
American Hospital Directory
Provides comparative data for most hospitals. Data comes from Medicare claims data, cost reports, and other public use files obtained from the federal Health Care Financing Administration.
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) (CDC)
The world's largest, on-going telephone health survey system, tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in the U.S. yearly since 1984. Prevelance Trends, GIS data, Chronic Disease Indicators, as well as the survey data and methodology are available.
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Data published annually on criminal victimization; populations under correctional supervision; and mortality in prisons. Periodic data series include administration of law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities; characteristics of correctional populations; and special studies on other criminal justice topics.
CDC Data and Statistics
Quick links to much of the CDC's data, including surveillance, various databases, and laboratory information.
CDC Wonder
Provides access to a variety Center of Disease Control reports, guidelines, and dozens of text-based and numeric databases, including vital statistics, environment, population, disease and disability, immunization, behavior and health, injuries, occupational health, and more. Export data: tab-delimited text file.
Census Reporter
Census Reporter presents US Census information in a straightforward format. Easily fetch summaries by geography or topic. You can also easily explore Census metadata and tables using Census Reporter.
CensusScope
An easy-to-use tool for investigating U.S. demographic trends, brought to you by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN) at the University of Michigan. With graphics and exportable trend data, CensusScope is designed for both generalists and specialists.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Research, Statistics, Data and Systems
Find links here to statistics, trends, reports and data related to Medicare and Medicaid services, such as actuarial studies, a Medicare Health Outcomes survey, Medicare enrollment reports, and public quality indicator and resident reports. Includes National Health Expenditure Accounts, the official estimates of total US health care spending.
Comprehensive Epidemiologic Data Resource
Comprised of health studies of US Department of Energy contract workers and environmental studies of areas surrounding DOE facilities. These studies primarily use death certificate information to identify excess deaths and patterns of disease among workers to determine what factors contribute to the risk of developing cancer and other illnesses. In addition, many of these studies have radiation exposure measurements on individual workers.

Sage Data This link opens in a new window
Includes data from local, state and international governments and organizations. Subject categories include criminal justice, education, energy, food and agriculture, government, health, labor and employment, natural resources and environment, and more. Datasets are customizable, allowing you to select variables of interest such as age, gender, and race.
Offers easy access to over 5,550 data sets from over 65 source providers and 16 subject categories, including banking, criminal justice, education,energy, food and agriculture, government, health, housing and construction,industry and commerce, labor and employment, natural resources and environment, income, cost of living, stocks, transportation, and more. Sources of data include federal, local, state and international governments and organizations. Allows for customization of the data by selecting subjects, and the ability to view your data in side-by-side tables, charts and maps.

Data.gov
Data.gov is the home of the U.S. Government’s open data. You can find Federal, state and local data, tools, and resources to conduct research, build apps, design data visualizations, and more.
FastStats A to Z
Quick access to public health statistics organized alphabetically. Includes links to publications that include the statistics presented, to sources of more data, and to related web pages.
HCUPNet
Online query system based on data from AHRQ's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. It provides access to health statistics and information on hospital inpatient and emergency department utilization at the national, regional, and State level.You can generate tables and graphs.
Health and Medical Care Archive
Data archive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Includes surveys of health care professionals and organizations (including local health departments), access to care, substance abuse, and program evaluations across many topics.
Health Reform Monitoring Survey
HRMS is a survey of the nonelderly population that monitors the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before data from federal government surveys are available. Website include data briefs, survey instruments, and public use data files.
Health, United States
From the National Center for Health Statistics, CDC.
An annual report on trends in health statistics. The report consists of two main sections: A chartbook containing text and figures that illustrates major trends in the health of Americans; and a trend tables section that contains detailed data tables. Prior editions back to 1975 are also available online.
Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Provides data on the number and rates of injury and illnesses by industry, details on the injured worker, nature of the disabling condition, and the event resulting in the disabling condition, and details on fatal incidents.
MACStats
MACStats presents data and information on Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and spending that can be difficult to find or require looking across multiple data sources. MACStats is updated online as new data become available.
Medicaid Statistical Information System
Eligibility, enrollment, program, utilization and expenditure data for the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
National Center for Education Statistics
The primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education. Incldues survey data (Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study; High School & Beyond study; etc.); Career & Technical Education; Effective Practices Conferences; and much more.
National Center for Health Statistics (CDC)
NCHS is the Federal Government's principal vital and health statistics agency. NCHS data systems include data on vital events as well as information on health status, lifestyle and exposure to unhealthy influences, the onset and diagnosis of illness and disability, and the use of health care.
National College Health Assessment, American College Health Association
Data about students’ smoking habits, contraception use, mental health issues, relationship difficulties, sexual behaviors, exercise habits, preventive health practices, and perceptions of drug and alcohol use, and more.
National Health Interview Survey
Statistical information on the amount, distribution, and effects of illness and disability in the United States and the services rendered for or because of such conditions. Data Source and Methods: Personal Interviews.
National Longitudinal Surveys
The NLS, sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, are nationally representative surveys that follow the same sample of individuals from specific birth cohorts over time. The surveys collect data on labor market activity, schooling, sexual activity & fertility, program participation, health, crime, and much more. Raw datasets available.
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health)
Demographic, social, familial, socioeconomic, behavioral, psychosocial, cognitive, and health survey data from participants (adolescents who were in grades 7-12 during the 1994-95 school year) and their parents; a vast array of contextual data from participants’ schools, neighborhoods, and geographies of residence; and in-home physical and biological data from participants, including genetic markers, blood-based assays, anthropometric measures, and medications.
NCHS Interactive Data Query Systems
National Center for Health Statistics provides researchers with important health data through specialized data access tools and resources, including microdata, tables, and reports.
ProPublica Data
Broad coverage of statistics, including nursing home data, worker's comp, and medicare spending.

Statista This link opens in a new window
A statistics portal that integrates data from reliable sources on thousands of topics
Categorized into market sectors, Statista provides access to quantitative facts on media, business, politics, and other areas. Sources of information include market research reports, trade publications, scientific journals, and government sources. Data may be downloaded into spreadsheets and presentations. Also includes industry reports.
Statistical Abstract of the United States (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive collection of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States, 1878 to present.
The United States Statistical Abstract (aka Stat Ab) is useful both as a convenient source for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information, in print and on the Web (when available). Sources include the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations. Prior to 2012, the Stat Ab was provided free of charge. In 2012, Congress cancelled funding and ProQuest has continued producing the Stat Ab.

U.S. Census Bureau
Publications, software, maps, and data sets are available. QuickFacts will get state, county, and city demographics (including age, race/ethnicity, income, residence, education), business information, and much more. There are many tools that let you focus in on specific locations and data points.

International Statistics

Berkeley Mortality Database
"This database contains life tables for national populations and, whenever available, the raw data used in constructing these tables." Data is provided for the United States, France, Japan, and Sweden. Note: The BMD has been replaced by the Human Mortality Database (see below for link). HMD data are superior for most purposes, however some items within the BMD are not yet available within the HMD or elsewhere.
Child Mortality Estimates (UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation)
This data portal contains data and the latest child mortality estimates for each country. Users can explore global trends through an interactive map or click into individual country pages to see national data on neonatal, infant, and child mortality over time. The site’s Compare tool allows comparisons between user-selected countries on key metrics of child survival; data can be viewed or exported for further analysis.
Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA)
CESSDA hosts European national data archives. Search/browse for data by topic, ketword and/or data provider.
Data.gov.au
Data.gov.au provides an easy way to find, access and reuse public datasets from the Australian Government.

Demographic and Health Surveys (MEASURE DHS+) This link opens in a new window
Provides reports and data from surveys in developing countries on population, health, HIV, and nutrition. (Data access requires one-time, free registration.)
The DHS Program website assists developing countries worldwide in the collection and use of data to monitor and evaluate population, health, and nutrition programs. Demographic and health surveys provide information on family planning, maternal and child health, child survival, HIV/AIDS/sexually transmitted infections, and reproductive health. Data is available using the STATcompiler, an online database tool that allows users to select numerous countries and hundreds of indicators to create customized tables that serve their specific data needs. In addition, DHS publications are available online, as are datasets (registration required for datasets access, but the data is available at no cost).

EM-DAT: The International Disaster database
EM-DAT provides geographical, temporal, human and economic information on disasters at the country level on the occurrence and effects of over 22,000 mass disasters in the world from 1900 to the present day. The database is compiled from various sources, including UN agencies, non-governmental organisations, insurance companies, research institutes and press agencies. Requires registration.

EPS China Data This link opens in a new window
EPS China Statistics presents the most comprehensive collection of data on China. It provides yearly, quarterly and monthly data for indicators covering national, county and city statistics. [1949-present]
It is a one-stop service platform for data retrieval, processing, analysis and forecasting, visualization display and data export. The database is in both English and Chinese version.

European Nations' Statistical Agencies
From the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Statistical Division, this site provides links to statistical agencies in Europe and elsewhere.
Food & Agriculture Organization (UN)
Provides access to FAOSTAT, the online searchable database of international statistics for the following areas: Food Supply, Food Security, Production, Emissions, Trade, Prices, and more.
Global Health Data Exchange
Comprehensive global catalog of surveys, censuses, vital statistics, and other health-related data. Raw data is for downloading. Includes Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 data and much more.
GlobalStat
Offers statistics on globalisation, sustainability and human development. Includes data on income distribution, energy consumption, water resources, dwellings, migration, land use, food production, nutrition, school enrollment, and life expectancy.
Human Mortality Database
The HMD provides detailed mortality and population data for 39 countries. A companion project is the Human Life-Table Database, which contains data for 101 countries. Data download: ASCII.
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
IHME is an independent global health research center at the University of Washington that provides measurements of the global health problems and evaluates the strategies used to address them. Data visualizations and country reports are available, as is information from the Global Burden of Disease project.
International Statistical Organizations
Scroll down to see a list of links to international statistical organizations.
OECD Health Statistics and Health Data
OECD Health Statistics consists of tables on health and health systems across OECD countries. OECD Health Data is an interactive database comprising data on a range of topics on the health care systems in the OECD Member countries and Accession countries, which are presented in a demographic, economic and social context. Some time series go back as far as 1960.
Our World in Data
Trends in health, food provision, incomes, violence, rights, wars, culture, energy use, education, and environmental changes are empirically analyzed and visualized in this web publication. Data quality is noted; visualizations may be freely adapted for any purpose; data is available for download in CSV format; code is open-sourced
STATCompiler
Allows users to make custom tables based on thousands of demographic and health indicators across more than 90 countries. Customize tables to view indicators by background characteristics, over time, and across countries. STATcompiler allows users to visualize and explore these data in column charts, line graphs, maps, and scatterplots.

Statista This link opens in a new window
A statistics portal that integrates data from reliable sources on thousands of topics
Categorized into market sectors, Statista provides access to quantitative facts on media, business, politics, and other areas. Sources of information include market research reports, trade publications, scientific journals, and government sources. Data may be downloaded into spreadsheets and presentations. Also includes industry reports.
Statistical Abstracts of the World This link opens in a new window
A collection of the statistical abstracts from many countries. (ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the World)
These statistical abstracts are generally issued by the national statistical offices of foreign governments and contain country-level data not easily found elsewhere. Global and regional statistical compendia issued by international organizations are included.

Statistics Canada
Provides statistics on Canadian population, health, environment, economics, and much more.
UNdata
Includes numerous databases, tables and glossaries containing over 60 million data points that cover a wide range of themes including Agriculture, Crime, Education, Employment, Energy, Environment, Health, HIV/AIDS, Human Development, Industry, Information and Communication Technology, National Accounts, Population, Refugees, Tourism, Trade, as well as the Millennium Development Goals indicators.
United Nations Statistics Division. Demographic, Social and Housing Statistics
Includes demographic, social, population, housing, advancement of gender, environment and energy, and vital statistics. Also includes information on methodology.
Includes the Demographic Yearbook, the compilation of statistics on population, education, immigration and more, going back to 1948.
WHO Country Facts
Demographic, statistical, and expenditure information for various countries.
WHO Global Health Observatory
Provides access to an interactive repository of health statistics. Users are able to display data for selected indicators, health topics, countries and regions, and download the customized tables in Excel format.

World Development Indicators (WDI) This link opens in a new window
An extensive collection of data about global development
Provides time series development indicators data (1960-present) for 210 countries. Includes tables for population, labor and employment, education, health, energy, urbanization, national accounts, purchasing power, trade, government finance, monetary, balance of payments, external debt, investment risk, taxes, prices and exchange rates, transport and communication, and information and technology. To access, click "Online Tables" under Formats Available.

World Factbook
Maps and information on the geography, people, economy, etc. of every country in the world. Published annually by the CIA.

Public Opinion Polls

Pew Research Center
A nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. They conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research.

Polling the Nations This link opens in a new window
Questions and results from public opinion polls and surveys taken all over the world from 1986 to the present
A compilation of public opinion polls and surveys from more than 6,500 national, state, local and special surveys in the U.S. and over 60 other countries. The surveys date from 1986 and contain information on over 3,000 social, political and economic issues.
Roper Center for Public Opinion Research This link opens in a new window
Contains domestic and international survey data, including the Health Poll Database. The Center's Public Opinion Location Library (iPOLL) gives online access to a database including poll questions asked in US from 1936 to present.
Contains domestic and international survey data. The Center's Public Opinion Location Library (iPOLL) gives online access to a database including poll questions asked in US from 1936 to present.

California Public Opinion Polls
Links to California Polls, Institute of Governmental Studies Pols, etc. Reports and data are available; data goes back to the 1950s and is searchable.

Caution: Survey Ahead!

Lots of health data comes from surveys. Here are some issues to consider when looking at survey or estimated data:

Look at sample sizes and survey response rates - representative of your population? Enough responses to be valid?
Who was surveyed? - representative of population being compared to? Include group you are interested in?
Were the survey respondents from heterogeneous groups? Do the survey questions have a similar meaning to members of different groups?
How was survey conducted? Via telephone? - Many people only have cell phones. Random selection or targeted group?
What assumptions and methods were used for extrapolating the data?
Look at definitions of characteristics - Does this match your own definitions?
Who identified race/ethnicity of respondents/participants?
When was the data collected? Who collected it?

(Adopted from information on the UCSF Family Health Outcomes Project web site, and from How to “QuantCrit:” Practices and Questions for Education Data Researchers and Users)

Reliability and Validity

Reliable data collection: relatively free from "measurement error."

Is the survey written at a reading level too high for the people completing it?
Is the device used to measure elapsed time in an experiment accurate?

Validity refers to how well a measure assesses what it claims to measure

If the survey is supposed to measure quality of life, how is that concept defined?
How accurately can this animal study of drug metabolism be extrapolated to humans?

(Adopted from Chapter 3, Conducting research literature reviews: from the Internet to paper, by Arlene Fink; Sage, 2010.)

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Health Statistics & Data: National & Int'l Statistics

National Statistics

International Statistics

Public Opinion Polls

Caution: Survey Ahead!

Reliability and Validity