LibGuides: Health Data and Statistics: Home

Introduction

Locating health-related data and statistics can be challenging! This guide will help you locate health-related data.

Here are a couple things to keep in mind when trying to locate data on a health-related topic:

Think in terms of major stakeholders. Who is likely to be responsible for keeping track of data on a particular health-related topic?

It takes time to compile data on a topic. The past few years may have to suffice as "recent" data.

Want to learn more about concepts in statistics? Check out:

Statistics at Square One

Tools for Locating Health Data and Statistics

American Community Survey (ACS) via the American FactFinder
Collected by the U.S Census Bureau. The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey that provides data every year. Survey samples the U.S population on topics such as age, sex, race, family, income, health insurance, education, disabilities, commuting, housing and more.
Data.gov
Searchable catalog of machine readable data-sets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.
FASTATS
A-Z topic list of statistics and data available from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Google Public Data Explorer
Allows you to search across publicly available data sets via the Google search interface.
Health, United States
Health, United States is an annual report on trends in health statistics. Presents national trends in health statistics. Each report includes an executive summary, highlights, a chartbook, trend tables, extensive appendixes, and an index. Produced by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Kaiser Family Foundation
Features data on health care produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation as well as from other organizations. Includes data on each U.S. state.
Wolfram Alpha
Dynamic computations based on a vast collection of built-in data, algorithms, and methods. Topics include health and medicine, food and nutrition, and socioeconomic data.
WONDER: Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research
Provides a single point of access to a wide variety of public health reports and data systems produced by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Need some more help?

Check out these helpful guides from the National Library of Medicine.

Data, Tools and Statistics
Extensive list of health-related data sets and statistical resources.

Finding and Using Health Statistics
Online tutorial "describes the range of available health statistics, identifies their sources and helps you understand how to use information about their structure as you search."