ENG101 : College Writing (Nadeau): Health Statistics

The older population--persons 65 years or older--numbered 39.6 million in 2009 (the latest year for which data is available). They represented 12.9% of the U.S. population, about one in every eight Americans. By 2030, there will be about 72.1 million older persons, more than twice their number in 2000. People 65+ represented 12.4% of the population in the year 2000 but are expected to grow to be 19% of the population by 2030.

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the world’s largest, on-going telephone health survey system, tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in the United States yearly since 1984. Currently, data are collected monthly in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.

The FastStats site provides quick access to statistics on topics of public health importance and is organized alphabetically. Links are provided to publications that include the statistics presented, to sources of more data, and to related web pages.

The Health Resources and Services Administration's annual report on the health status and service needs of America's children. The book is a compilation of secondary data for many health status indicators, and provides both graphical and textual summaries of data and addresses long-term trends.

ClinicalTrials.gov is a registry and results database of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in the United States and around the world. ClinicalTrials.gov gives you information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details. This information should be used in conjunction with advice from health care professionals.

Diabetes Data and Trends, which includes the National Diabetes Fact Sheet and the National Diabetes Surveillance System, provides resources documenting the public health burden of diabetes and its complications in the United States. The surveillance system also includes county-level estimates of diagnosed diabetes and selected risk factors for all U.S. counties to help target and optimize the resources for diabetes control and prevention.

Disability data collected by the Census Bureau.

An annual report on trends in health statistics.

The Census Bureau collects health insurance data using three national surveys: the Current Population Survey's Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), the American Community Survey (ACS) and the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). The CPS ASEC collects health insurance data on an annual basis at the national and state level geographies.

Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans.

HCUPnet is a free, on-line query system based on data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). It provides access to health statistics and information on hospital inpatient and emergency department utilization.

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is a set of large-scale surveys of families and individuals, their medical providers, and employers across the United States. MEPS is the most complete source of data on the cost and use of health care and health insurance coverage.

Cancer Statistics Review from 1975 to 2001.

Includes FastStats on a variety of health topics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. The survey is unique in that it combines interviews and physical examinations.

The National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), which has been conducted annually since 1965, is a national probability survey designed to meet the need for information on characteristics of inpatients discharged from non-Federal short-stay hospitals in the United States. Data from the NHDS are available annually and are used to examine important topics of interest in public health and for a variety of activities by governmental, scientific, academic, and commercial institutions.

Statistics on kidney failure and other urological diseases.

Clearinghouse of data on health topics concerning minorities in the US.

The Reports of the Surgeon General contains official reports, conference and workshop reports, and proceedings from the Office of the Surgeon General. As part of its Profiles in Science project, the National Library of Medicine has digitized and made available over the World Wide Web the Reports of the Surgeon General for use by the public.

SSI Recipients by State and County.

Statistics and information on a variety of health topics important to women and their families.

Data from the Department of Labor.