Health Status
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.
Housed at the CDC, NCHS is a major source of vital statistics and health data, collected from a variety of sources, including birth and death records, medical records, interview surveys, and through direct physical exams and laboratory testing. Major NCHS surveys and data of importance to women include the National Health Interview Survey, National Survey on Family Growth, National Nursing Home Survey, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), and its annual publication, Health, United States.
National Cancer Institute, Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)
The Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) at the National Cancer Institute provides statistics on rates of cancer incidence, prevalence, deaths, stratified by a number of factors, including gender.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Health, United States, 2010.
In this annual report form the DHHS, the current data on health in the United States is presented and stratified by gender. This report provides material on the major health topics including: health insurance, health care costs, and prevention costs.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Research and Services Administration (HRSA), (Women’s Health USA 2010)
This yearly chart book covers major indicators of women’s health status and access to care, including disease incidence, health behaviors, health system utilization, demographic characteristics, and also discusses health needs of special populations such as immigrant women, incarcerated women, and seniors
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Women’s Health, Quick Health Data Online.
National, regional, state and county data are available by gender, race, ethnicity, and age. Statistics are available on demographics, mortality, access to care, infections and chronic disease, reproductive health, maternal health, mental health, violence and abuse, and prevention. Allows users to search and create custom tables, graphs, and maps.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health.
The Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services works to address the disparities in health for minorities. The OMH tries to prevent disparities through sharing data, creating partnerships, encouraging research and funding projects.
Health Coverage and Access to Care
Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey (CPS).
The CPS is the major data source for estimates of the number of people with health insurance coverage, the types of coverage they have, and those who are uninsured.
Harvard School of Public Health, DiversityData.Org.
This website allows users to sort information on health and well-being in American metropolitan areas by many different variables including gender, race/ethnicity, family status and other issues relating to women's health.
Kaiser Family Foundation. 2011. Kaiser Women’s Health Care Chartbook.
This report summarizes major findings of a national survey of women ages 18-64, and examines women's health status, health care costs, insurance coverage, access to care, prevention, and their roles in family health care.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
The AHRQ provides information and materials which cover a broad range of topics which related to health and healthcare, including women’s health specifically. The organization is in charge of a number of major projects such as the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) which is the nation’s major source for data on health care spending in which data is available for public use and can be stratified by a number of variables, including sex, race/ethnicity, age, and locale. The AHRQ is also in charge of Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) which provides resources summarizing and cataloguing information from state data organizations, hospitals, and the government about health care. The group also produces the annual National Healthcare Quality Report and the National Healthcare Disparities Report that supply important material about the status of disparities in healthcare and the quality of healthcare in general.
U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau.
Provides statistics and analysis on women’s economic and financial security, workplace participation, and use of employer benefits including health insurance. Along with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, they issue the chartbook, Women in the Labor Force: A Databook, 2009.
State-Level Data and Policy Information
Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts.
This online database contains state-level data on a host of women’s health issues, ranging from women’s health status to insurance coverage to utilization.
Guttmacher Institute, State Policies in Brief.
This database from Guttmacher tracks the major monthly policies concerning reproductive health and access and coverage issues.
National Conference of State Legislatures. March 2011. Improving Women’s Health: State Policy Options.
This issue brief produced by the NCSL discusses the state options for improving women’s health. The brief analyzes major women’s health issues and provides strategies for how to develop them.
National Women’s Law Center, Women’s Health Report Card, 2010.
This bi-annual analysis of state policies and state ranking evaluates 34 health status indicators and 67 health policy indicators, and assesses state-by-state progress in reaching key benchmarks related to the status of women's health. The Report Card also provides an important overview of key disparities in the health of women based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status, and other facts.
Women’s Policy, Inc. The Source on Women Issues in Congress.
This newsletter produced by Women’s Policy, Inc. provides information on the appearance of women’s issues in congress. The newsletter explains bills and resolutions passed which to relate to women’s health and explain what they will do and why there are important.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Women’s Health, Health Disparities Profiles
Produced by the Office on Women’s Health, these profiles provide data on key health issues for different populations in each state.
Reproductive Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.
Data is available on rates of marriage, divorce, contraception, infertility, and the health of women and infants in the United States. The CDC also offers up-to-date statistics on HIV with the HIV Surveillance Report and on STDs with the STD Surveillance Report.
Center for Reproductive Rights, The World's Abortion Laws 2011.
This interactive map compares the abortion laws of every country, providing an easily understood overview of access to abortion throughout the world.
Guttmacher Institute, State Policies in Brief.
Provides monthly updates on state policies on abortion, prevention and contraception, STDs and HIV, youth sexual health.
Office of Population Affairs, Family Planning Annual Report: 2009 National Summary, 2010.
This annual report produced by the Office of Family Planning reports on Title X service grantees and comments on the current status of family planning providers in the United States. The report covers the most commonly used methods of contraception, characteristics of providers, the major financing sources, and major demographic characteristics.
National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, National and State Data. This site provides national and state-level data on sexual activity and pregnancy rates among teens.
National Institutes of Health, Women’s Health Initiative.
The Women's Health Initiative is a major 15-year research study to investigate the underlying factors behind the most common causes of death, disability and poor quality of life in postmenopausal women -- cardiovascular disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. The Initiative includes clinical trials as well as an observational study, and received major attention in 2002 when it halted one arm of the clinical trials because of its findings on the effects of hormone replacement therapy.
Prepared by Sarah Chew, Usha Ranji, and Alina Salganicoff of the Kaiser Family Foundation, September 2011.