Data Source Descriptions

The Administration for Community Living

is a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

The administration funds various community programs, social services, and training and research initiatives that help older adults and people with disabilities live independently. The administration’s State Program Reports, available through the AGing, Independence, and Disability (AGID) Data Portal,

provide data annually on Older Americans Act services.

The American Community Survey

is an ongoing statistical survey coordinated by the U.S. Census Bureau

that provides detailed information on national population demographics. The survey collects and produces information about social, economic, housing and demographic characteristics from the nation's civilian noninstitutionalized population each year. Data are derived from the bureau directly via its 1-year

and 5-year

datasets or from the public use microdata sample (PUMS)

file.

The American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation

is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about the adverse health effects of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure, as well as the benefits of smoke-free environments. The foundation produces lists and maps covering laws regarding clean air, e-cigarettes, marijuana and tobacco sales in pharmacies. State-level data are obtained via a special request to the organization.

The American Time Use Survey

provides annual activity insights into how Americans spend their daily time. The survey is conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,

which collects and analyzes data on employment, wages and other workplace statistics for the U.S. Department of Labor.

Data are obtained from the bureau’s website.

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

is the nation's largest phone-based population survey. The survey, coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

in collaboration with state, territory and federal agencies, provides information about health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions and use of preventive services. Data are accessed via the CDC’s BRFSS web page.

The Care Compare

tool, run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS),

helps users find and compare providers and services by furnishing detailed information about every Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing home in the country, including health inspections, staffing and various other quality measures. Data are accessed via the data archive

for “nursing homes including rehab services.”

CDC WONDER

is a query system for analyzing public-use data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics

on births and deaths, as well as other topics. Data are obtained from the Multiple Cause of Death,

Linked Birth/Infant Death,

Natality

and Single-Race Population Estimates

files.

Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households

reports have been published annually by the Food and Nutrition Service

of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

since 1976. These reports provide information about the demographic and economic circumstances of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants and households each fiscal year.

Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS)

data are produced by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

’s Office of Policy Development and Research,

which manages specific housing data from the American Community Survey. These data demonstrate the extent of housing problems and needs, particularly for low-income households. Data are accessed via the Consolidated Planning/CHAS Data web portal.

The Environmental Protection Agency

performs various federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. National Safe Drinking Water Act

data are reported by states, compiled from the Safe Drinking Water Information System

database for public water systems and downloaded from the Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO)

website. State-level air pollution data are obtained via a special request to the agency.

The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)

uses state data collected by the U.S. Department of Transportation

’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

to produce a census of public motorway accidents resulting in fatalities within 30 days of a crash. Data are obtained from the FARS Encyclopedia.

Feeding America

publishes annual reports on food insecurity among seniors and older adults.

These reports document the prevalence of food insecurity among older adults in the U.S. and identify the geographic sociodemographic variation in food insecurity based on data from the December supplement to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey.

Two years of data are combined to produce state-level estimates.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3),

a division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,

publishes annual reports analyzing complaint data on internet scams and elder fraud.

The Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) State Scorecard

is published every three years by the AARP

Public Policy Institute.

The report details long-term services and supports for older adults, people with physical disabilities and family caregivers, aggregating data from a variety of primary sources.

LTCFocus

is a product of the Shaping Long-Term Care in America Project, conducted at the Brown University Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research

and supported in part by the National Institute on Aging.

The LTCFocus project website provides data on long-term care, including facility characteristics, resident characteristics and long-term care policies by state, county and facility.

The Mapping Medicare Disparities (MMD) Tool

is a comprehensive source of information from the CMS Office of Minority Health,

offering data on eliminating health disparities and improving the health of minority populations. This tool features health outcome measures of disease prevalence, costs, hospitalizations for 60 chronic conditions, emergency department use, readmissions rates, mortality, preventable hospitalizations and preventive services. Data are obtained from the MMD by Population

website.

The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (NEPHTN)

brings together health data and environmental data from national, state and city sources and provides supporting information to make the data easier to understand. Data from state and local health departments are compiled by the tracking network and accessed via their Data Explorer.

The National Immunization Surveys (NIS)

are a set of ongoing phone surveys conducted by the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases,

which focuses on the prevention of disease, disability and death through immunization and control of respiratory and related diseases among young children and adults. Data on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccinations among older adults are collected by the NIS-Adult COVID Module

and accessed via the Weekly Cumulative RSV Vaccination Coverage

website.

The National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES)

is a registry developed by CMS to improve the efficiency of electronic health information transmission. NPPES assigns a unique National Provider Identifier (NPI)

number to covered health care providers and health plans to conduct all administrative and financial transactions under HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Data are accessed via the NPI files

website.

The NHPCO Facts and Figures

report is published annually by the 

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), now known as the National Alliance for Care at Home,

the nation’s largest membership organization for hospice and palliative care workers and providers. The report leverages hospice claims data from CMS to produce statistics on hospice patient characteristics, location and level of care, as well as other topics. Data are accessed via the National Alliance website.

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

program produces employment statistics and wage estimates for nearly 800 occupations at national, state and metropolitan levels. Data are collected by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics and obtained through the Occupational Employment and Wages Query System.

 

Volunteering and Civic Life Supplement

data are collected by the Current Population Survey, an ongoing statistical survey sponsored jointly by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data are released biennially in odd years and obtained from the Census Bureau’s website.

Voting and Registration Supplement

data from the Current Population Survey are released by the Census Bureau every two years following national elections.