The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is a U.S. government agency that provides statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

of the American people. It is a unit of the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

(CDC) and a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System. It is headquartered at University Town Center in

Hyattsville, Maryland Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is an urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States census. History Before Europeans reached the area, the upper Anacostia ...

, just outside Washington, D.C.

History

The Marine Hospital Service, predecessor of the

Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant Se ...

(PHS), began collecting data on communicable diseases and performing

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

of the incidence and distribution of diseases due to an 1878 act of Congress. In 1893, another law provided for weekly collection of data from state and municipal authorities. The Division of Sanitary Reports and Statistics was established in 1899 as part of the initial establishment of internal divisions within the Marine Hospital Service. Separately, the Division of Public Health Methods was formed in 1937 within the

National Institute of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Servic ...

. In 1943, these two divisions were merged, retaining the name Division of Public Health Methods but being transferred into the Office of the Surgeon General. In 1946, the Division of Public Health Methods absorbed the Vital Statistics Division, which dated from 1903, from the

Bureau of the Census The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

in the

Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government. It is responsible for gathering data for business ...

. The merged division was renamed the National Office of Vital Statistics. It was then transferred into the PHS Bureau of State Services in 1949. In 1960, the National Office of Vital Statistics and the National Health Survey merged to form the National Center for Health Statistics. The National Health Survey had been created within PHS in 1956 through the National Health Survey Act (); it was the successor to a seminal national health survey performed by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

during 1935–1936, which had multiple supplemental studies carried out in the intervening decades. During the PHS reorganizations of 1966–1973, the National Center for Health Statistics was part of the Health Services and Mental Health Administration (HSMHA), and afterwards was part of the Health Resources Administration. Since 1987, it has been part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

' About NCHS: Celebrating 50 Years

Data collection programs

NCHS collects data with surveys, from other agencies and U.S. states, from administrative sources, and from partnerships with private health partners. NCHS collects data from birth and death records, medical records, interview surveys, and through direct physical examinations and laboratory testing. These diverse sources give perspectives to help understand the U.S. population's health, health outcomes, and influences on health.

' Mostly Medicaid. There ar
four major data collection programs at NCHS

National Vital Statistics System

The National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) collects official vital statistics data based on the collection and registration of birth and death events at the state and local levels. NCHS works in partnership with the vital registration systems in each

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

to produce critical information on such topics as teenage births and birth rates, prenatal care and birth weight,

risk factor In epidemiology, a risk factor or determinant is a variable associated with an increased risk of disease or infection. Due to a lack of harmonization across disciplines, determinant, in its more widely accepted scientific meaning, is often use ...

s for adverse pregnancy outcomes, infant mortality rates, leading

causes of death The following is a list of the causes of human deaths worldwide for different years arranged by their associated mortality rates. Some causes listed include deaths also included in more specific subordinate causes, and some causes are omitted ...

, and

life expectancy Human life expectancy is a statistical measure of the estimate of the average remaining years of life at a given age. The most commonly used measure is ''life expectancy at birth'' (LEB, or in demographic notation ''e''0, where '' ...

National Health Interview Survey

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) provides information on the health status of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population through confidential interviews conducted in households by Census Bureau interviewers. NHIS is the Nation's largest in-person household health survey, providing data on health status, access to and use of health services,

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

coverage,

immunization Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an infectious agent (known as the antigen, immunogen). When this system is exposed to molecules that are foreign to the body, called ' ...

s, and health-related

behavior Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions of Individual, individuals, organisms, systems or Artificial intelligence, artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or or ...

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is NCHS's most in-depth and logistically complex survey, operating out of mobile examination centers that travel to randomly selected sites throughout the U.S. to assess the health and nutritional status of Americans. This survey combines personal interviews with standardized

physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, clinical examination, or medical checkup, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a Disease, medical condition. It generally consists of a series of ...

s, diagnostic procedures, and laboratory tests to obtain information about diagnosed and undiagnosed conditions; growth and development, including overweight and

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...

; diet and

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...

;

s; and environmental exposures.

National Health Care Surveys

Th
National Health Care Surveys
provide information about the organizations and providers that supply

health care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

, the services they render, and the patients they serve. Provider sites surveyed include physician offices, community health centers, ambulatory surgery centers, hospital

outpatient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other healt ...

and emergency departments,

inpatient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other heal ...

hospital units,

residential care Residential care refers to long-term care given to adults or children who stay in a residential setting rather than in their own home or family home. There are various residential care options available, depending on the needs of the individual. ...

facilities,

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

s, home health care agencies, and hospice organizations. The National Health Care Surveys are used to study resource use, including staffing; quality of care, including patient safety; clinical management of specific conditions; disparities in the use and quality of care; and diffusion of health care technologies, including

drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...

s, surgical procedures, and information technologies.

Other data collection programs

In addition to its major data collection programs, conducts targeted surveys and augments survey data where possible. NCHS conducts the National Survey of Family Growth to obtain information on factors affecting birth and pregnancy rates, adoptions, and maternal and infant health, and supplements the information obtained on birth certificates collected through the National Vital Statistics System. NCHS's State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey (SLAITS) produces state-level data on such topics as the health of children with special needs, to meet the data needs of its colleagues in 's Maternal and Child Health Bureau and elsewhere. NCHS's National Immunization Survey is conducted in collaboration with other offices in Atlanta. NCHS's National Death Index creates a longitudinal component to other routine data systems. NCHS's Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory develops and tests survey and data collection instruments for use by NCHS and other federal agencies and research organizations.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Federal Statistical System of the United States Health surveys