Publicly Available Sources of Data for Health & Social Determinants of Health

The purpose of this Web site is to provide a comprehensive collection of links to publicly available health and social determinants of health data for the United States. A separate Global Health Data Sources LibGuide will be created that links to resources for other countries. 

The resources in this LibGuide can be used to develop health profiles on a US county or region that extends what is available through local agencies or as points of comparison when more localized data is available.

Criteria for selection of a resource includes:

1. Health data for the United States and Pennsylvania;
2. Reliable and authoritative providers of information;
3. Public facing interface;
4. Emphasis on county level (or more localized when possible);
   • Resources that provide data at the state level have been included because they fulfill the 1st 3 criteria.

Additionally, a collection of health datasets from federal agencies has provided but they require expertise with to utilize them.

The health of  individuals and of a population are dependent on several factors known as the determinants of health:

• Biology and Genetics
• Policymaking
• Health Services
• Individual behavior
• Social factors

The resources on this LibGuide point to health outcomes (e.g. Cause of Illness or Cause of Death) as well as social and behavioral determinants of health. Biological and genetic determinants and policymaking determinants are not included.