Social Science Data Resources: Health & Health Care

Access to thousands of social science datasets for research and instruction. A first place to start in looking for social science data for secondary analysis.

"Serve(s) as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy." Includes the Decennial Census, the American Community Survey the Economic Census, and more.

Features an alphabetical list of data resources from government agencies. Includes all topics from health, education, economic, crime, child and family, immigration, genealogy, labor and many more.

This data set contains counts of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) cases reported to CDC by state and local health departments from 1981+. Case counts can be retrieved by demographics, case-definition, date of diagnosis, date of report, HIV exposure group (risk factors), and mortality.

Country based data file summarizing secondary data from a wide variety of sources that are useful to health analysts investigating the nation’s health care delivery system. Available in the SSDS on CD; does not circulate.

A survey of insured Californian's experiences with managed health care done for California's Managed Health Care Improvement Task Force.

National and sub-national data on family planning, maternal and child health, child survival, HIV/AIDS/sexually transmitted infections (STIs), infectious diseases, reproductive health and nutrition. Surveys have been conducted in 32 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, 7 countries in North Africa/West Asia/Europe, 10 countries in South and Southeast Asia, and 13 countries in Latin America and the Caribean. Microdata are available free of charge by request.

GHO is the World Health Organization's gateway to health-related statistics from around the world. The GHO will provide access to an interactive repository of health statistics. Users will be able to download data sets in various formats, display data for selected indicators, health topics, countries and regions, and download the customized tables in Excel format.

The Guatemalan Survey of Family Health was designed to examine the way in which rural Guatemalan families and individuals cope with childhood illness and pregnancy, and the role of ethnicity, poverty, social support, and health beliefs in this process. The EGSF sample includes all rural communities in four of Guatemala's 22 departments.

The HCUP is the largest collection of longitudinal hospital care data in the United States, with all-payer, discharge-level information beginning in 1988.

The HMCA preserves and disseminates health care data collected by researchers. Subjects covered include Health Care Providers, Cost/Access to Health Care, Substance Abuse and Health, Chronic Health Conditions, and Other.

The JCUSH was a research study conducted by Statistics Canada and the National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data collection began in November 2002 and ended in March 2003. The JCUSH was a one-time, random telephone survey in both countries.

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, or MEPS as it is commonly called, is the third (and most recent) in a series of national probability surveys conducted by AHRQ on the financing and utilization of medical care in the United States.

The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) is a prospective panel study of health and aging in Mexico, with national and urban/rural representation. The baseline survey was conducted in the Summer of 2001, and a follow-up is planned for the Spring-Summer of 2003.

NAMCS contains data on medical care provided in physicians' offices. It is a continuously sampled survey based on a nationwide sample of patient records.

A comprehensive look at the well-being of children and non-elderly adults, and reveals sometimes striking differences among the 13 states studied in depth.

Examines national health systems from 1960 forward for OECD member countries in a general, demographic, economic, and social context.

This site makes available data from some of the Population Research Center's projects. Interesting datasets include the National Health and Social Life Survey, the Chicago Health and Social Life Survey, and the Chinese Health and Family Life Survey. These surveys profile sexual behavior, demography and health.