US Government Goes Open Source with Health Data

Community Health Data Initiative Interim Work Page

The Community Health Data Initiative is a collaborative effort among government and non-government partners to establish a network of suppliers and demanders of community health data, indicators, and interventions. Its purpose is to help Americans understand health and health care system performance in their communities, thereby sparking and facilitating action to improve performance and value.
The HHS Health Indicators Warehouse that is currently under development will serve as the data hub for the initiative. We consider health indicators to be measurable characteristics that describe the health of a population (such as life expectancy, mortality, disease incidence or prevalence, or other health states); determinants of health (such as health behaviors, health risk factors, physical environments, and socioeconomic environments); and health care access, cost, quality, and use. Depending on the measure, a health indicator may be defined for a specific population, place, political jurisdiction, or geographic area. NCHS is working with data, content, and application experts to develop this interactive system that will represent a major infusion of free, easily accessible HHS data. While the warehouse is under development, we are making several resources available.
Below you will find links to downloadable data sets which form the basis for the content anticipated to be available through the Indicator Warehouse and which will further the success of the Community Health Data Initiative. A draft set of indicators [PDF - 122 KB] that may be included is available for review and comment.
Please send all questions and suggestions to IndicatorsWarehouse@cdc.gov.

Downloadable Data Sets

Community Health Status Indicators (CHSI) - A web-based tool providing local public health agencies access to county health status profiles for improving community health by identifying resources and setting priorities. Visit the CHSI home page to read about the data sources, definitions, and notes, and then explore the CHSI dataset file [ZIP - 5 MB].
County Health Rankings - An interactive website providing access to 50 state reports with rankings of each county within each state according to its health outcomes and health determinants. The County Health Rankings are a key component of the Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health (MATCH) project. MATCH is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Read about the project and then examine the MATCH State Data file [XLS - 3 MB] [ZIP - 3.4 MB].
DATA2010 - An interactive database system containing the most recent monitoring data for the Healthy People 2010 objectives. Statistical tables [ZIP - 17 MB] from eighteen focus areas with state level data are now available.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - Provides a wealth of downloadable data, such as Hospital Quality Compare and Nursing Home Compare, for health policy researchers, the media, and others interested in Medicare (Medicare's database download resource page).
USDA Economic Research Service - Provides the US Food Environment Atlas, a spatial overview of a community’s ability to access healthy food and its success in doing so. The Atlas assembles statistics on three broad categories of food environment factors: Food Choices; Health and Well-Being; and Community Characteristics.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - Produces the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports measuring the trends in effectiveness of care, patient safety, timeliness of care, patient centeredness, and efficiency of care. Static tables are available in addition to an interactive tool for generating customized tables. A data table containing all measures by all states is also available.
The State of the USA - An organization assembling high-quality measures and data that will increase the understanding and progress of the US across many areas, including health. SUSA is currently developing a set of health indicators that will be available in the near future.

Select Indicator Reports and Initiatives

America’s Children: Key national indicators of well-being, 2009
A compendium of indicators illustrating both the promises and the difficulties confronting our Nation’s young people.

Chronic Disease Indicators
A set of 90 cross-cutting, important, uniform, and available indicators developed by consensus and drawn from many data sources.
Health, United States, 2009
A chartbook and 150 detailed tables providing an annual picture of the health of the entire United States.
Healthy People
Healthy People 2010 contains 467 objectives in 28 focus areas designed to serve as a framework for improving the health of all people in the United States. Healthy People 2020 is currently under development.

Older Americans 2008
A report of the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, providing data on 38 key indicators that portray aspects of the lives of older Americans and their families.