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PH 601: Foundations of Public Health

This page provides links to sources of data and statistics collected and provided by numerous organizations and agencies.  Health data and statistics can be difficult to find. Some of the things that make this so challenging are:

  • Health data collection is decentralized, and carried out by many different government, non-governmental and private agencies and organizations.  This will include organizations working at the national, state and local levels.  Data quality, collection methodology and accessibility will vary considerably.
  • Data collection and dissemination takes time and resources.  There is often a lag time between collection and availability, and thus real-time data can be difficult to come by.
  • Collection of health data in the United States is a fairly recent phenomenon.  Thus, finding reliable data prior to 1956, when the National Health Survey was established, will take time and may involve consulting primary resources.  You can also search the scholarly literature to find any studies that may have already done this ground work for you. 
  • Beginning in January 2025, many government datasets related to public health issues have been removed.  Read more about disappearing federal data here.  Colby College Libraries has a helpful guide for finding alternative entry points for archived data.

Data Repositories

These are some of the most important players in the collection of health data in the United States and worldwide. 

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS)
DHHS is the umbrella agency under which most national health data and statistics programs operate. These include the CDC, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), among others.

Centers for Diseases Control (CDC)
The CDC is a part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and is the primary federal agency for public health.

  • Data and Statistics: This is the starting point for health statistics from the CDC. Browse by topic, view publications, and links to interactive tools, surveys and more. [archived]
  • CDC Wonder: A portal to several CDC databases concerning health-related topics for public health information and numerical data sets such as AIDS/STDs, risk behaviors (the Behavioral Risk Surveillance System), mortality and natality statistics.

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
The NCHS is the nation's principal health statistics agency. It is a unit of the CDC. The NCHS homepage is also a central point for health statistics browseable by topic, links to surveys, publications, and other online tools.

World Health Organization (WHO)
The World Health Organization is an agency of the United Nations and is an international coordinating agency for public health.

Social Explorer

Specific Diseases