Featured Article
- The Datafication of Health (Annual Review of Anthropology) The datafication of health unfolds on a number of different scales and registers, including data-driven medical research and public health infrastructures, clinical health care, and self-care practices.
Related Guides
Selected Data, Mapping, & Public Opinion Sources
Health
- Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) The Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Series is a data collection stemming from the work of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Midlife Development (MIDMAC). MIDMAC is an interdisciplinary research group consisting of numerous scholars from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds. It was established in 1989 to study a period in the lifespan -- middle age. The primary objective of MIDMAC is to identify the major biomedical, psychological, and social factors that permit some people to achieve good health, psychological well-being, and social responsibility during their adult years. To do this, MIDMAC collected a series of data to establish an empirical basis for documenting what happens in the middle years and to identify the factors that determine the course of midlife development.
- IPUMS Health Surveys IPUMS Health Surveys provide free individual-level survey data for research purposes from two leading sources of self-reported health and health care access information: the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS).
- IPUMS Global Health IPUMS Global Health provides integrated international health survey data at no cost for research and educational purposes from two data series: the Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) and Performance, Monitoring, and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020).
- Global Health Observatory (WHO) The Global Health Observatory (GHO) is WHO's gateway to health-related statistics for more than 1000 indicators for its 194 Member States.
- National Center for Health Statistics The mission of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is to provide statistical information that will guide actions and policies to improve the health of the American people. As the Nation's principal health statistics agency, NCHS leads the way with accurate, relevant, and timely data.
- Centers for Disease Control: Data and Statistics Data and statistics on health issues.
- The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) is a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7-12 in the United States during the 1994-95 school year. The Add Health cohort has been followed into young adulthood with four in-home interviews, the most recent in 2008, when the sample was aged 24-32. Add Health is re-interviewing cohort members in a Wave V follow-up from 2016-2018 to collect social, environmental, behavioral, and biological data with which to track the emergence of chronic disease as the cohort moves through their fourth decade of life.
- National Longitudinal Mortality Study (NLMS) The NLMS is a national, longitudinal, mortality study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau for the purpose of studying the effects of differentials in demographic and socio-economic characteristics on mortality.
- Maternal Vulnerability (Surgo Ventures) Maternal Vulnerability Index and Maternal Mortality Ratio for US counties and states
- General Social Survey "For more than four decades, the General Social Survey (GSS) has studied the growing complexity of American society. It is the only full-probability, personal-interview survey designed to monitor changes in both social characteristics and attitudes currently being conducted in the United States."
- Rural Data Explorer Select from a wide range of data on health disparities, health workforce, demographics, and more. Explore how metropolitan and nonmetro counties compare, nationwide and by state
- OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window OECD iLibrary is the online library of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) featuring books, papers and statistics and is the gateway to OECD’s analysis and data. It replaced SourceOECD in July 2010. OECD iLibrary also contains content published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and the International Transport Forum (ITF).
- SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) Office of Applied Studies SAMHSA is the lead Federal Agency for improving access to quality substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment and mental health services in the U.S The OAS serves as SAMHSA's focal point for data collection, analysis, and dissemination of critical public health data to assist policymakers, providers, and the public in making informed decisions regarding the prevention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders.
- National Institute of Mental Health Statistics Research shows that mental illnesses are common in the United States, affecting tens of millions of people each year. Estimates suggest that only half of people with mental illnesses receive treatment. The information on these pages includes currently available statistics on the prevalence and treatment of mental illnesses among the U.S. population. In addition, information is provided about possible consequences of mental illnesses, such as suicide and disability.
Social Determinants of Heatlh
- Sources for Data on Social Determinants of Health (CDC) Data can be a catalyst for improving community health and well-being. Understanding data on social determinants of health, such as income, educational level, and employment, can help focus efforts to improve community health. The following tools are supported by CDC resources; some tools include references to data sources outside of CDC.
- County Health Rankings & Roadmaps The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, works to improve health outcomes for all and to close the health disparities between those with the most and least opportunities for good health. This work is rooted in a deep belief in health equity, the idea that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, income, location, or any other factor.
Mapping / Visualization
- Policy Map This link opens in a new window Easy-to-use online mapping and visualization tool. Downloadable U.S. demographic, economic and social data by city, state, zip code, county or census tract. Types of data include crime, housing, health, education and occupations, derived from both public and proprietary sources.
Census / Demography
- American Community Survey (ACS) The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey that provides vital information on a yearly basis about our nation and its people. Information from the survey generates data that help determine how more than $675 billion in federal and state funds are distributed each year. Through the ACS, we know more about jobs and occupations, educational attainment, veterans, whether people own or rent their homes, and other topics.
- Current Population Survey The Current Population Survey (CPS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most well-recognized surveys in the United States. It is immensely important, providing information on many of the things that define us as individuals and as a society – our work, our earnings, and our education. In addition to being the primary source of monthly labor force statistics, the CPS is used to collect data for a variety of other studies that keep the nation informed of the economic and social well-being of its people.
- National Equity Atlas A comprehensive resource for data to track, measure, and make the case for racial equity and inclusive prosperity in America’s regions, and states, and nationwide. The Atlas contains data on demographic change, racial and economic inclusion, and the potential economic gains from racial equity for the largest 100 cities, largest 150 regions, all 50 states, and the United States as a whole.
- IPUMS USA IPUMS USA collects, preserves and harmonizes U.S. census microdata and provides easy access to this data with enhanced documentation. Data includes decennial censuses from 1790 to 2010 and American Community Surveys (ACS) from 2000 to the present.
- IPUMS CPS IPUMS CPS harmonizes microdata from the monthly U.S. labor force survey, the Current Population Survey (CPS), covering the period 1962 to the present. Data include demographic information, rich employment data, program participation and supplemental data on topics such as fertility, tobacco use, volunteer activities, voter registration, computer and internet use, food security, and more.
- IPUMS International PUMS-International is dedicated to collecting and distributing census data from around the world. The project goals are to collect and preserve data and documentation, harmonize data, and disseminate the harmonized data free of charge.
Data Archives
- ICPSR Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research This link opens in a new window ICPSR is the world's largest archive of computer readable social science data in education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, terrorism, and other fields.
- Harvard Dataverse Network Dataverse is an open source web application to share, preserve, cite, explore, and analyze research data. It facilitates making data available to others, and allows you to replicate others' work more easily. Researchers, journals, data authors, publishers, data distributors, and affiliated institutions all receive academic credit and web visibility.
- World Bank Data Catalog The Open Data Catalog lists all data adhering to the Open Data terms of use. This catalog lists all Open Data and other publicly available data disseminated through World Bank sites, but may have some restrictions on use.
- re3data.org Registry of Research Data Repositories.
- Data.gov Here you will find data, tools, and resources to conduct research, develop web and mobile applications, design data visualizations, and more.
- ResearchDataGov ResearchDataGov is a web portal for discovering and requesting access to restricted microdata from 16 federal statistical agencies
Public Opinion
- Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. We do not take policy positions.
- Roper Center Public Opinion Archives This link opens in a new window The Roper Center is a public opinion archive that preserves the data from polls conducted by many leading survey organizations. Most of the data are from the United States, but over 50 nations are represented. The iPOLL databank offers access to nearly half a million survey questions and answers asked in the U.S. by more than 150 survey organizations. Direct links are given to study documentation and datasets. Date coverage: 1930s – present.
- Health Poll Database (Roper Center) Heatth Poll Database is an open resource offering researchers at every level unprecedented access to questions and results from over 80 years of U.S. national polls on health-related topics. This new resource promotes an understanding of public opinion on a broad range of health issues.
