LibGuides: Public Health: Major Sources

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)

The NCHS provides statistics and data that guide public policies and actions. It provides a large amount of information.

Data Briefs Statistical publications that provide information about current public health topic
Life Tables Life expectancy for the US by age and by state. Annual report.
Public-Use Data Surveys and data collection that can be used for different statistical analysis
Surveys & Data Collections

Vital Statistics

WONDER
Death and birth data, causes of death, and reports.
Vital Statistics Rapid Release
Use to access data for public health in the US. Quarterly updates.
National Vital Statistics
The most complete data on births and deaths in the US

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The CDC is the primary public health institution in the US and provides tools and resources

WONDER
Provides research data, references, guidelines, numeric sets on health-related topics. WONDER=Wide-ranging ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research.
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
Data about US on health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services.
Interactive Database Systems
Continuously updated data on a variety of topics related to health

Health Data

Health Data.gov
Geared toward researchers and policy makers the datasets provide accurate and updated information on a variety of health topics

Kaiser Foundation

The Kaiser Foundation is a non-profit foundation that does research, journalism, and communications programs focusing on major health care issues in the US.

State Health Facts
Health facts by state. Include disparities, cost, reforms, and demographics

US Census Bureau

The Census is the best source for current data and statistics about population and economy in the US.

Census Data
Select health information using a variety of parameters

Local Data

County Health Search or select a state and a county to see a summary report of the health in that community. Data comes from multiple sources. Counties are ranked by "Health Outcomes" (actual health status) and by "Health Factors" (anything that affects health outcomes). Click on a specific item to see the source of that data
The Community Guide