Library Guides: Cultural Competency in Healthcare: Health Disparities (Data & Statistics)

Statistics

Health Statistics can be difficult to track down. Numerous Federal, State, and local governments are responsible for data collection and the publication of health care information. Non profit groups also conduct their own research and re-publish data from federal data sources. Always read the fine print on the origin of the data to understand where the information derives from to better understand how to interpret the results. Links to relevant statistical data have been incorporated into each population group listed in this guide.

Key Organizations for Health Disparities Data

The resources below represent key organizations that combine resources on a variety of populations and conditions.

HDPulse: An Ecosystem of Health Disparities and Minority Health Resources
"The Data Portal brings together data that are collected from public health surveillance systems by using either their published reports or public use files. The objective of the Data Portal is to provide an ecosystem to characterize health disparities to motivate action to reduce health disparities. Interactive graphics and maps provide visual support for deciding where to focus public health disparities control efforts."
CDC: Social Determinants of Health
The social determinants of health are the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work, and age, as well as the systems put in place to deal with illness. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a wider set of forces: economics, social policies, and politics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Health Disparities in Cancer CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC) monitors trends in cancer incidence and mortality, and identifies which populations are disproportionately affected by the disease.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Mapping Medicare Disparities Tool The CMS Office of Minority Health has designed an interactive map, the Mapping Medicare Disparities Tool, to identify areas of disparities between subgroups of Medicare beneficiaries (e.g., racial and ethnic groups) in health outcomes, utilization, and spending. It is an excellent starting point to understand and investigate geographic and racial and ethnic differences in health outcomes.
Health Disparities Calculator (HD*Calc)
"The Health Disparities Calculator (HD*Calc) is statistical software designed to generate multiple summary measures to evaluate and monitor health disparities.
Kaiser Family Foundation: Disparities Policy Documents & Statistics
Kaiser is a non-profit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the U.S., as well as the U.S. role in global health policy.
Kaiser Family Foundation: Minority Health
Kaiser is a non-profit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the U.S., as well as the U.S. role in global health policy"This category includes demographic data on minority populations, medical school graduates, and women's and men's health disparities."
National Academies Press: Minority Health
The NAP publishes numerous free reports on a variety of healthcare issues. You may need to create a free account to download pdf documents.
National Healthcare Quality & Disparities Reports: State Profiles Tools for measuring health care quality,including quality indicators,and ambulatory clinical performance measures. These reports measure trends in effectiveness of care, patient safety, timeliness of care, patient-centeredness, and efficiency of care. The reports present, in chart form, the latest available findings on quality of and access to health care.
NIH National Institute on Minorty Health & Health Disparities
The NIMHD leads scientific research to improve minority health and eliminate health disparities. Specifically, NIMHD conducts and supports research, training of a diverse workforce, research capacity and infrastructure development, public education and information dissemination programs.

Centers for Disease Control | National Center for Health Statistics

When looking for data on US populations, the first place you should investigate is the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control. "The mission of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is to provide statistical information that will guide actions and policies to improve the health of the American people. As the Nation's principal health statistics agency, NCHS leads the way with accurate, relevant, and timely data."

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
The CDC is the place to start when trying to locate statistics for the United States.

WONDER (Wide-ranging OnLine Data for Epidemiologic Research) This link opens in a new window
CDC WONDER furthers CDC's mission of health promotion and disease prevention by speeding and simplifying access to public health information for state and local health departments, the Public Health Service, and the academic public health community. CDC WONDER is valuable in public health research, decision making, priority setting, program evaluation, and resource allocation.

Links from Social Determinants of Health Page

County Health Rankings and Roadmaps (CHR&R)
CHR&R allows nationwide comparison of counties with similar populations based on key demographic, social, and economic indicators.
HealthyPeople.Gov: Social Determinants of Health
One of Healthy People 2030’s 5 overarching goals is specifically related to SDOH: “Create social, physical, and economic environments that promote attaining the full potential for health and well-being for all.” In line with this goal, Healthy People 2030 features many objectives related to SDOH. These objectives highlight the importance of "upstream" factors — usually unrelated to health care delivery — in improving health and reducing health disparities.
World Health Organization: Social Determinants of Health
The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels.