Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

BRFSS logo
Overview
System of health surveys conducted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Includes health risk behavior, preventive health, health care access, chronic disease, and injury. Link/Data

Components
BRFSS, SMART: City and County Data

Population
US population, 18 yr+ years old

Cost
$0

Clearance?
No. There isn’t an additional clearance step.

Years Available
1984-2017

Linked Datasets
Asthma Call-back Survey, GIS Data

Study Types
Survey

Data Type
ASCII, SAS

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Main Variables:

 

County Health Rankings

County Health Rankings

Overview
County rankings are based on a model that includes factors such as environment, socioeconomic factors, access to healthcare, and health behaviors of the county population. Link/Data

Components

  • County Health Rankings
  • Health Factors Maps

Population
US population

Cost
$0

Clearance?
No. There isn’t an additional clearance step.

Years Available
2010-2018

Linked Datasets
No

Study Type
N/A

File Types
Excel xls files
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Main Variables:

Data.gov

Overview
Government data repository. Available to the public: find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the federal government. Link

Components
Data Warehouse

Population
Varies

Cost
Varies, but usually no cost

Clearance?
Varies by dataset

Years Available
Varies by dataset

Linked Datasets
Varies

Study Type
Varies by dataset

File Types
Varies by dataset
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Main Variables:

Health and Retirement Study (HRS)

Overview
Study designed to explore the changes in labor force participation and the health transitions that Americans undergo toward the end of their work lives and in the years that follow. Link/Data

Population
US population, 50+ years old

Cost
$0

Clearance?
Yes. Register as a user on the HRS website

Years Available
1992-2016

Linked Datasets
National Death Index, Geographic Information, SSA

Study Type
Longitudinal Panel Survey

File Types
.da Files, SAS, SPSS, Stata descriptions
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Main Variables:

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)

Overview
Set of databases concerning: hospital inpatient and emergency department utilization. Link/Data

Components

  • Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS)
  • Nationwide Emergency Dept Sample (NEDS)
  • Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID)
  • State Inpatient Databases (SID)

Population
US population. Discharge level patients from hospitals, ambulatory surgery,  and ERs

Cost
$50 dollars per year for most recent years. $20 per year for previous years. (students)

Clearance?
Data Usage Agreement

Years Available
2001-2016

Linked Datasets
Yes. Varies by dataset.

Study Type
Surveillance

File Types
ASCII
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Main Variables:

Intergrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)

IPUMS

Overview
A data warehouse created and managed by the Minnesota Population Center. IPUMS contains population and census data from the United States and 238 countries. Link

Use this service to order census data that is relevant to your research.

Components

  • IPUMS- International
  • IPUMS- USA
  • IPUMS- CPS
  • North Atlantic Population Project
  • National Historical Geographic Information System
  • Integrated Health Interview Series
  • American Time Use Survey-X

Population
US population, International

Cost
$0

Clearance?
Yes. Register with the Minnesota Population Center. For International data, researchers must provide a description of research, institutional affiliation, etc.

Years Available 
US Census data – 1850- present
International census data – 1960- present

Study Type
Data Warehouse

File Types
ASCII, SPSS, SAS, Stata syntax files provided

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Main Variables:

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)

Overview
Inter-University partnership focused on social science research. Link

Components
Data Warehouse

Population
US, International

Cost
$0

Clearance?
Yes. For some restricted data. Agreement Request System (IDARS), IRB approval, data use agreement, investigator information, description, information on data formats, data storage.

Years Available
Varies

Study Type
Varies by dataset

File Types
ASCII, SAS, SPSS, Stata
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Main Variables:

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)

Overview
National estimates of health care use and spending, insurance, accessibility of care. Link/Data

Components

  • Household
  • Insurance
  • Medical Provider component

Population
US Families and individuals, Employers, Medical Providers (physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, etc.)

Cost
$0

Clearance?
No. There isn’t an additional clearance step.

Years Available
1996-2017

Linked Datasets
No

Study Type
Survey

File Types
ASCII, SAS transport file
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Main Variables:

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)

Overview
National survey designed to assess health and nutritional status of US. Link

Components

  • Interview
  • Dietary
  • Examination
  • Lab

Population
US population

Cost
$0

Clearance?
No. There isn’t an additional clearance step.

Years Available
1999-2018

Linked Datasets
Yes. NHANES-SSA: 1999-2004 NHANES Geocodes, NHANES-Medicaid: 1999-2004, NHANES-Medicare: 1999-2004

Study Type
Survey

File Types
XPT SAS files
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Main Variables:

National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)

NHIS Web Banner

Overview
National survey  designed to collect information on the health of United States. Link

Components

  • Core
  • Household
  • Family
  • Sample Adult
  • Sample Child
  • NHIS-D, National Health Interview Survey on Disability.

Population
US population

Cost
$0

Clearance?
No. There isn’t an additional clearance step.

Years Available
1963-2017

Linked Datasets

NHIS Linked Mortality Data:1986-2006, NHIS-EPAAnnualAir: 1985-2005 (Not available for public use), NHIS-SSA: 1994-2005, NHIS- Medicaid: 1994-2005, NHIS-Medicare: 1994-1998, NHIS Geocodes.

Study Type
Survey

File Types
ASCII, SAS, SPSS, Stata
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Main Variables: