Health Data
DATA AND RESEARCH RESOURCES
The Nassau County Department of Health supports the collection and dissemination of health data for public health research and education.
Community Health Assessment (CHA) and Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)
The
2014-2017 Community Health Assessment and the Community
Health Improvement Plan are comprehensive reports of
the health status of Nassau County that contains the
most recently available data with analysis and narrative:
Community
Health Improvement Plan
| Appendix: | Nassau County Department of Health Wellness Universal Metric Questionnaire |
Annual Report
Nassau County Department of Health 2012 Annual Report
Baby Basics Report
Highlights from Baby Basics an Educational Intervention at Community Health Centers
Behavioral Risk Factor Survey
Report
on the Findings of the 2006 Nassau County Behavioral Risk Factor Survey -
( ~1 Mb pdf file ).
Diabetes
Diabetes:
From the National, State and Local Perspective
Falls
Falls Among Older Adults: From the National, State and Local Perspective
Lead In Artificial Turf
CDC Advisory: "Potential Exposure to Lead in Artificial Turf"
Demographic Data
US Census
The Census Bureau of the United States Department of Commerce is the single most comprehensive source of demographic, social and economic data for US populations. Information can be obtained down to the zip code and census tract level. Enter the site at www.census.gov . For easy access to commonly requested state and county data, use the “State & County Quick Facts” drop-down menu on the right side of the home page. For more detailed local information, click on “Your Gateway to Census 2000” at the top of the page. Follow the links from “American FactFinder” to “Data Sets”. For the data set in which you are interested, choose “Custom Table”. Zip-code level data is available under the “geo within geo” tab. Choose “Show me all 5-Digit ZIP Code Tabulation Areas” from the first drop-down menu and follow the prompts.
Health Data
CDC WONDER
The Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemologic Research (WONDER) site provides a single point of access to the many public health reports and data sets prepared and maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC). Subjects include leading causes of death, health risk behaviors, injury control and occupational health. Most data is on the national level, but state and some limited local data is available. wonder.cdc.gov.
Disease Information Websites
The New York State Department of Health homepage offers access to state and local health information. Choose “Info for Researchers” from the menu along the left side of the page. From here you may choose your area of interest. The “County Health Indicator Profiles” link will provide access to tables of health data at the county level. The “Cancer Surveillance Improvement Initiative” button will link you to zip-code level cancer incidence tables and maps. The “Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS)” refers to hospitalization data. “Vital Statistics” refers to birth and death data. www.health.state.ny.us
The following are examples of the many disease-specific sites on the internet.
Alzheimer’s Disease
The Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center supplies information, research, and publications about Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias. www.alzheimers.org
Asthma
The American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology offers both patient and professional information as well as physician referrals. www.aaaai.org/
Cancer
The federal government provides information and statistics on cancer, links to clinical trials and research programs as well as details on research funding. cancer.gov/cancerinformation.
The US Food and Drug Administration offers a list of facilities that provide mammography which are certified as meeting baseline quality standards. The list is searchable by area or zip code. www.fda.gov/cdrh/mammography/certified.html
Heart Disease
The American Heart Association provides links to warning signs of heart disease and stroke, professional data, information on CPR training, and advice on healthy lifestyles. www.americanheart.org/
The National Library of Medicine’s MEDLINEplus has “extensive information from the National Institutes of Health and other trusted sources on over 600 diseases and conditions. There are also lists of hospitals and physicians, a medical encyclopedia, a medical dictionary and health information in Spanish.” www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
Research and Public Health Organization Websites
Cochrane Collection
The Cochrane Collaboration is an international organization whose goal is to provide patients and professionals with up-to-date, accurate, evidence-based information on health care interventions by performing systematic reviews of published clinical studies. www.cochrane.de/index.htm
NYSACHO
The New York State Association of County Health Officials (NYSACHO) serves as an advocate for public health in New York State and provides education and training programs. www.nysacho.org/
MMWR
The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report contains provisional health data based on weekly reports submitted by state health departments. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/
PubMed
The National Library of Medicine’s PubMed provides access to over 11 million MEDLINE citations some of which provide full text articles. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
SISA
The Simple Interactive Statistical Analysis (SISA) homepage will allow you to conduct statistical analysis directly on the internet. You click on the procedure and fill in the form. The analysis takes place immediately. Guides are available to help you decide which procedures are appropriate to your problem. home.clara.net/sisa/
Before You Begin
Before researching health data, it helps to define your goals, needs and resources. This initial work will make your efforts more focused, efficient and productive. The following 3 questions are based on a much more comprehensive treatment of the subject that can be found in the Community Toolbox, which is part of the Turning Point Initiative of the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation. (http://www.rwjf.org/publications/communitytoolbox.jhtml)
1. What is the value and purpose of the information that you will collect? Why, exactly, does your group need this information? How will you use it?
2. What, exactly, do you want to know? In what diseases, causes of death, risk factors or health-related behaviors are you interested? Are you just looking for statistics, or do you want to collect some qualitative information as well? Are you interested in incidence rates, or prevalence rates, or both? Over how long a period of time?
3. How much information do you want to collect? Set limits on how much data you will collect. Consider who will have to find this information and whether they have enough time and resources to complete the task.
Once you’ve defined your search, you may be able to obtain information and assistance from your local reference librarian, chambers of commerce, and non-profit agencies such as the United Way, Planned Parenthood and the United Healthcare Fund.
