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This page was put together to offer quick access to some of the resources that gather statistics and data related to diseases and health related concerns. Categories were assigned to assist in determining which type or location might work best for your research need. Additional resources and recommendations for this page are welcome.
- Finding and Using Health Statistics (NIH, NICHSR)from the NICHSR-a self study tutorial
Using and ....
A Practical Approach to Using Statistics in Health Research by Call Number: ebookPublication Date: 2018A hands-on guide to using statistics in health research, from planning, through analysis, and on to reporting
Analyzing Qualitative Data by Call Number: ebookPublication Date: 2018This book tackles the challenges of how to make sense of qualitative data. It offers students and researchers a hands-on guide to the practicalities of coding, comparing data, and using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis.
Health Data Sharing to Support Better Outcomes by Call Number: Ebook-NCBI BookshelfISBN: 9780309705097Publication Date: 2021The effective use of data is foundational to the concept of a learning health system?one that leverages and shares data to learn from every patient experience, and feeds the results back to clinicians, patients and families, and health care executives to transform health, health care, and health equity. More than ever, the American health care system is in a position to harness new technologies and new data sources to improve individual and population health. Learning health systems are driven by multiple stakeholders...
Statista for finding data sources
CDC Data Portal and Raw Data
If you are looking for raw data there are few different areas of the CDC website to check in.
CDC Data Portal
For raw data that can be shared publicly (i.e. it does not have sensitive private information) you can try the CDC data portal at https://data.cdc.gov/. There are a number of preset categories displayed in boxes on the data portal’s homepage or you can click on ‘Browse all’ to search them all. From Browse All you can search with keywords in the search bar at the top and filter your searchers using the options to the left, including Categories, Type, Tags and Domain.
The results may include files like maps, stories, calendars and other things, so if you are only looking for datasets, select that option from the View Types filter on the left.
De-identified Vital Statistics
For raw vital statistics data (births, deaths, and related data) the Vital Statistics Online Data Portal has US data files, US Territories data files, and user guides all organized by year. While these datasets are deidentified, make sure to read the Data Use Agreement and Data Use Policy before using these data files.
Sensitive Raw Data
For raw data that may include sensitive information there are a few different sources. The CDC’s Research Data Center allows researchers to access restricted data through a mediated application process. Instructions on how to apply and what the process is like are on this page and the FAQ can answer general questions. For other questions email rdca@cdc.gov.
Citing Statistics Resources
Citing can be a challenge when looking at the variety of sources and formats that statistical information comes in. Here are a few helpful sources.
Community Prevenitve Services Initiatives
Guide to Community Preventive Services
A free resource to help you choose programs and policies to improve health and prevent disease in your community. Systematic reviews are used to answer these questions:
- Which program and policy interventions have been proven effective?
- Are there effective interventions that are right for my community?
- What might effective interventions cost; what is the likely return on investment?
Data Resources
- America's Health RankingsAnnual analysis of national health on a state-by-state basis. Ranks the healthiest and least healthy states. Browse by state and by measure. Includes Senior data.
- Research Data and Tools: Agency for Healthcare Research and QualityState Snapshots, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, U.S. Health Information Knowledgebase (metadata registry of healthcare-related data standards funded and directed by AHRQ.
- HSR Information Central: Data, Tools & StatisticsFrom the National Institutes of Health, HSRIC is a research portal of health services research resources providing numerous Internet links to data, funding announcements, reports, podcasts, discussion groups, and more. It contains selective links representing a sample of available information. Items are selected for their quality, authority of authorship, uniqueness, and appropriateness.
- ICPSR: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social ResearchICPSR is a non-profit membership-based data archive based at University of Michigan. Access to datasets and related studies on a wide variety of topics.
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Data HubThe official data archive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is free and accessible to all researchers, students and policy-makers. National averages and state data for health care costs and quality, covering the uninsured, insurance status, public health, social determinants of health, healthier lifestyles, health care value and equality. Select from a wide variety of indicators, such as obesity, preventable hospitalizations, immunizations, nutrition policies, smoking, BMI screening, chronic disease prevalence, public health funding, medicare/medicaid costs, income inequality, unemployment, and much more.