National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

NCHS mission NCHS’s mission 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

NCHS history The nation’s principal health statistics agency since 1960 Became a part of CDC in 1987 Provides critical data to inform program and policy development and evaluation for CDC, HHS, other federal agencies, state/local programs, public health partners, researchers and policymakers Located in Hyattsville, MD ≈600 staff $212M budget CDC Headquarters Atlanta, GA NCHS Hyattsville, MD

NCHS organizational structure Office of the Director Office of Management & Operations Office of Research & Methodology Office of Planning, Budget & Legislation Office of Information Services Classifications & Public Health Standards Staff Office of Information Technology Office of Analysis & Epidemiology Division of Vital Statistics Division of Health Care Statistics Division of Health Interview Statistics Division of Health & Nutrition Examination Surveys

Data from NCHS enable us to… Document the health status of the population Identify disparities in health status and the use of health care by race or ethnicity, socioeconomic status, region, and other population characteristics Describe experiences with the health care system Monitor trends in health status and health care delivery Identify health problems Support biomedical and health services research Provide information for changing public policies and programs Evaluate the impact of health policies and programs

High priority activities Improve data accuracy …….Through methodological research, adoption of new data collection tools, and the development of new information products Improve data relevance Improve data timeliness

NCHS’s data collection programs In addition to its major data collection programs, NCHS fulfills its mission by conducting targeted surveys and augmenting survey data where possible National Vital Statistics System National Health Interview Survey National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey National Health Care Surveys National Survey of Family Growth

National Vital Statistics System Provides the nation’s official vital statistics data (births, deaths, fetal deaths) based on the collection and registration of birth and death events at the state and local level >6M vital events reported every year from 57 registration areas States’ transition to Electronic Birth Registration Systems and Electronic Death Registration Systems is improving the timeliness and quality of these data

Nation’s largest in-person household health survey, providing annual information on the health status of the U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population Provides data to analyze health trends, determine barriers to care, and compare health status, health related behaviors, and risk factors across racial and ethnic populations New content to monitor health care access and use; sample size expanded to allow for more stable state-level estimates 2010: estimates for ≈20 states 2012: estimates for ≈38 states National Health Interview Survey

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Largest program at NCHS, began in 1959 Assesses the health and nutritional status of the U.S. population ~5,000 persons/year in 15 randomly selected U.S. sites Combines health interview and physical examination Interview includes demographic, socioeconomic, dietary, and health-related questions Examination, performed in specially-designed and equipped mobile centers, consists of medical, dental, and physiological measurements as well as lab tests Data used to develop sound public health policy, direct and design health programs and services, and expand the health knowledge for the nation

National Health Care Surveys Provide information about the organizations and providers that supply health care, their services, and their patients Data collected on health care provided in physician offices, community health centers, hospital outpatient and emergency departments, and long-term care settings Surveys are a primary way to monitor health care and the impact of health care policies, such as the Affordable Care Act Survey sample sizes have increased so that state-specific estimates of clinical care can be provided to state health department partners Health services researchers and policy makers use these data to answer key questions about what drives the cost and quality of health care

National Survey of Family Growth Gathers information on family life, marriage and divorce, pregnancy, infertility, use of contraception, and men's and women's health Survey results are used to plan health services and health education programs, and to conduct statistical studies of families, fertility, and health

Central methodological research and development and consulting unit Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory focuses on reliability and validity of survey instruments and understanding the substantive meaning of estimates Statistical Research and Survey Design Staff focuses on statistical methods for design, analysis, and evaluation Research Data Center provides access to restricted-use data files in a secure environment Office of Research and Methodology: Pioneering use of metadata

Initiates, develops, maintains, and disseminates cross- cutting analysis and analytic tools for NCHS, CDC, HHS and other executive branch agencies, policymakers, and the research community Conducts research to Develop population health measures Integrate data, including linkage of surveys and administrative data Develop tools to facilitate access to, and dissemination of, statistical data Examine methodological questions, such as survey reliability Address health, health policy and health care delivery issues Office of Analysis and Epidemiology

NCHS conducts and supports national health monitoring efforts Congressionally mandated, annual report on trends in health HHS initiative to guide national health promotion and disease prevention

Data access and selected resources Public-use data files available through CDC Wonder Short publications with latest information on public health topics drawn from NCHS surveys Data access tool for national, state, and community health indicators and data

Selected partnerships USDA, FDA, NIH, and the private sector Diet and nutrition data Vital statistics Partnership with 57 vital registration areas enables a stronger and safer birth and death registration system Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Adoption of electronic health records

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA Phone: CDC-INFO ( )/TTY: Web: For more information about NCHS visit