Research Guides: *Public Health: Find Data & Statistics

On this page you will see recommended places to find data and statistics. You can find international, national, state, and local numbers and trends.

Data and Statistics

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
This institute collects, analyzes, and advocates for the use of health data in policy decisions across the globe. Search for datasets, access visualizations about that data, and access snapshots of health in different areas of the world. The research topics covered vary from year to year. From UW Medicine at the University of Washington.
Global Health Data Exchange
Also known as GHDx, this site helps you locate freely-available raw datasets you can download about health in different parts of the world. Search by topic ("keyword"), organization, series, or location. Use RSS feeds to learn about new datasets that are added about your topic of interest. From the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at UW Medicine.
HealthData.gov
Datasets from several levels of the U.S. Government. Simple one-word or two-word searches work best. Each dataset is labelled with the file formats you can download the data in.
CDC's Data and Statistics
Find data and statistics by topic including alcohol use, life expectancy, oral health, etc.
National Center for Health Statistics
"The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) collects, analyzes, and disseminates timely, relevant, and accurate health data and statistics. Our products and services inform the public and guide program and policy decisions to improve our nation’s health."
National Center for Health Statistics Surveys and Data Collections Systems
Learn more NCHS's surveys and datasets. Click on the "Summary of Current Surveys" to download a PDF with overviews of their surveys. The tables in the PDF summarize the kind of data available, the data collection methods, how frequently the data is collected, and other information that will help you decide if you should use their data.
National Public Health Data Resources
A collection of national data resources managed by NY Department of Health.
CDC Wonder
"Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (Wonder) - an easy-to-use, menu-driven system that makes the information resources of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) available to public health professionals and the public at large. It provides access to a wide array of public health information."
Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Discover data about work-related injuries and illnesses for different professions or demographic groups. Differentiate between fatal and nonfatal illnesses and injuries. Information is available at the state or national level and can be compared across many years. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the US Department of Labor.
County Health Rankings & Roadmaps
Search or select a state and a county to get a summary report of the health in that community. Data comes from multiple sources. Counties are ranked by "Health Outcomes" (actual health status) and by "Health Factors" (anything that affects health outcomes). Click on a specific item to see the source of that data. From the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Global Health Observatory
The World health statistics contains a wealth of information on global public health such as infectious diseases, urban health, environmental health, etc. See reports, maps. and data sets.
Massachusetts Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA)
Find many different types of data about health care in Massachusetts, including health care costs, insurance information, hospital performance, and more. Some data comes as interactive maps, broken down by region. Other data comes as tables and charts.
Health of Boston Reports
This annual report describes different aspects of health for people living in the Boston area. Find statistics about many aspects of health. Read overviews of those aspects and learn about contributing factors. From the Boston Public Health Commission.
Re3Data.org's List of Data Repositories for Public Health, Health Services Research, Social Medicine
Find several data storage sites that focus on public health data. Filter by content type and or by country. Each repository listed has a short description. Icons show if the repository has general information, is open access, has licenses, has persistent identifiers, has certificates and standards, and has policies. From Re3Data.org Project Consortium.
License Information for Re3Data.org
Re3data.org is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licensing (CC BY 4.0)

Google Dataset Search
Search for your topic (for example, "car accidents"). The first column will show a list of datasets related to your search. The second column will show more details about the result you have selected. The details will include a link to the actual dataset. The definition of "data" is very broad. You will find statistical information, texts (such as an electronic copy of Frankenstein), and more. The information is pulled from existing data platforms, such as Figshare or Data.gov.

Databases on FAIRsharing.org
Use the subject filters to find sites that have datasets you can use. Public health is not a main subject, but is an option you can choose once you have applied a main subject such as "Social Sciences" or "Social Science." The datasets in this list follow the FAIR data principles: they are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable.

Need a refresher on statistics? Try these resources!

Guide to Statistics and Medicine
This series of articles in JAMA provides overviews of different statistical measures and methods. The types of statistics and methods included primarily focus on medical, rather than social, topics.
Khan Academy - Statistics & Probability
Watch brief captioned videos about different types of statistics.