Office of Adolescent Health |HHS Adolescent Health Data Sources May 2012

HHS Sources for Adolescent Health Data

Data on adolescent health status, diseases, and related conditions are collected 

across HHS agencies through three approaches: vital records, surveillance systems 

and nationally representative surveys.

Vital Registration: the system by which the government records the 

essential life events of its citizens and residents.

 Births (Natality file)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics, 

Division of Vital Statistics collects and reports information on all live births in the U.S. including 

births to adolescent mothers. State laws require birth certificates to be completed for all 

births, and Federal law mandates national collection and publication of births and other vital 

statistics data. The compilation of birth data by the National Vital Statistics System is the result 

of the cooperation between the National Center for Health Statistics and the States to provide 

access to statistical information from birth certificates.

For more information on births among adolescents, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/nchs/births.htm

www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_01.pdf

www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db89.htm

 Deaths (Mortality file)

CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics collects Mortality data.

Mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) are a fundamental source of 

demographic, geographic, and cause-of-death information. For deaths among adolescents, the 

leading causes of death, racial disparities, and trends by age and gender are particularly 

informative. NVSS is one of the few sources of health-related data that are comparable for 

small geographic areas and are available for a long time period in the U.S. The data are also 

used to present the characteristics of those dying in the U.S., to determine life expectancy, 

and to compare mortality trends with other countries.

For more information, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/nchs/deaths.htm

www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_04.pdf

H 
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 Fetal Deaths

CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics collects and reports 

information on fetal death (the spontaneous intrauterine death of a fetus at any time during 

pregnancy) in the U.S. Fetal deaths later in pregnancy (at 20 weeks of gestation or more), are 

sometimes referred to as stillbirths. In the U.S., State laws require the reporting of fetal 

deaths, and Federal law mandates national collection and publication of fetal death data.

For more information on fetal deaths among adolescents, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/nchs/fetal_death.htm

www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_08.pdf

Surveillance: the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, 

and dissemination of data regarding a health-related event, disease, or 

condition.

 Abortion Surveillance

CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s abortion 

surveillance program documents the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal 

induced abortions, and it compiles abortion data by state or area of occurrence. During 1973-

1997, data were received or estimated for 52 reporting areas (50 states, the District of 

Columbia and New York City). From 1998 – 2008, the number of reporting areas has fluctuated 

between, 45 and 49. 

For more information, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/Data_Stats/Abortion.htm; 

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6015a1.htm?s_cid=ss6015a1_w

 HIV/AIDS Surveillance 

HIV/AIDS surveillance is conducted by health departments in each state or territory and the 

District of Columbia. Using a standard confidential case report form, the health departments 

collect information that is then transmitted electronically without personal identifying 

information to CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP), National Center for HIV/AIDS, 

Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. DHAP has developed a comprehensive program of HIV 

surveillance to collect, analyze, and disseminate data on HIV infection and AIDS. Through HIV 

surveillance, DHAP monitors many facets of the trends in HIV in the U.S., including HIV Case 

Surveillance, HIV Incidence Surveillance, Variant, Atypical, and Resistant HIV.

For more information on HIV/AIDS among adolescents, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/index.htm

www.cdc.gov/hiv/surveillance/resources/reports/2010report/index.htm
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 National Electronic Injury Surveillance System – All Injury Program 

(NEISS-AIP) 

The NEISS-AIP is a collaborative effort by CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and 

Control and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission that collects data on all 

nonfatal injuries (including sexual assault) and poisonings treated in U.S. hospital 

emergency departments. NEISS-AIP uses a subsample of injury data from the NEISS nationally 

representative sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments; 

For more information, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars/nonfatal/datasources.htm#5.3

 Notifiable Disease Surveillance 

Notifiable disease surveillance is conducted by public health practitioners at local, state, and 

national levels to support disease prevention and control activities. State epidemiologists 

report cases of notifiable diseases to CDC’s Public Health Surveillance and Informatics Program 

Office, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, which tabulates and 

publishes these data in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) and at year-end in 

the annual Summary of Notifiable Diseases, U.S. There is an extensive list of notifiable 

infectious diseases, which includes sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chancroid, 

chlamydia, gonorrhea, primary and secondary syphilis as well as non-STI infectious conditions

such as anthrax, botulism, measles, rabies, tetanus, toxic shock syndrome, and hepatitis.

For more information, please see:

www.cdc.gov/osels/ph_surveillance/nndss/nndsshis.htm

 Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 

CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention conducts sexually

transmitted disease (STD) surveillance. STD surveillance information is based on the following 

sources of data: notifiable disease reporting from state and local STD programs; projects that 

monitor STD prevalence in various settings, including regional Infertility Prevention Projects, 

the National Job Training Program, the STD Surveillance Network, and the Gonococcal Isolate 

Surveillance Project; and other national surveys implemented by federal and private 

organizations. CDC’s STD surveillance report includes data on the three STDs that physicians 

are required to report to local or state public health authorities—gonorrhea, chlamydia, and 

syphilis—which represent only a fraction of the true burden of STDs. Some common STDs, like 

human papillomavirus (HPV) and genital herpes, are not required to be reported.

For more information, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/std/

www.cdc.gov/std/stats10/surv2010.pdf
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Statistical Survey: a method for collecting quantitative information about 

health-related information in a population; surveys sample individuals or 

healthcare providers from a population to make statistical inferences about 

the population based on the sample.

 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)

The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP, pronounced "H-Cup") is a family of health 

care databases and related software tools and products developed through a Federal-StateIndustry partnership and sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. HCUP 

creates a national information resource of patient-level health care data by bringing together 

the data collection efforts of State data organizations, hospital associations, private data 

organizations, and the Federal government. HCUP includes the largest collection of 

longitudinal hospital care data in the U.S., with all-payer, encounter-level information 

beginning in 1988. These databases enable research on a broad range of health policy issues

among adolescents as well as other age groups, including cost and quality of health services, 

medical practice patterns, access to health care programs, and outcomes of treatments at the 

national, State, and local market levels.

For more information, please see:

www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/overview.jsp

 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is conducted by the Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality. MEPS is a set of large-scale surveys of families and individuals, their 

medical providers, and employers across the U.S.. MEPS is the most complete source of data 

on the cost and use of health care and health insurance coverage. MEPS collects data on the 

specific health services that Americans use, how frequently they use them, the cost of these 

services, and how they are paid for, as well as data on the cost, scope, and breadth of health 

insurance held by and available to U.S. workers.

For more information, please see:

http://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/about_meps/survey_back.jsp

 Monitoring the Future (MTF)

Since 1975 the MTF survey has measured drug, alcohol, and cigarette use and related 

attitudes among adolescent students nationwide. Survey participants report their drug use 

behaviors across three time periods: lifetime, past year, and past month. Overall, almost 

47,000 students from 400 public and private schools in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades 

participate in the survey each year. The survey is funded by the National Institute on Drug 

Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and conducted by the 

University of Michigan.
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For more information, please see: 

www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/monitoring-future

http://monitoringthefuture.org/

www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/monitoring-future/overview-findings2011

 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS)

The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) is conducted by CDC’s 

National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Health care Statistics. NAMCS is a national 

survey designed to meet the need for objective, reliable information about the provision and 

use of ambulatory medical care services in the U.S.. Findings are based on a sample of visits to 

non-federal employed office-based physicians who are primarily engaged in direct patient 

care.

For more information, please see: 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ahcd.htm

 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey is conducted by CDC’s National Center 

for Health Statistics, Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. NHANES is a

program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children 

in the U.S. The survey is unique in that it combines interviews and physical examinations. The 

NHANES interview includes demographic, socioeconomic, dietary, and health-related 

questions. The examination component consists of medical, dental, and physiological 

measurements, as well as laboratory tests administered by highly trained medical personnel.

Data for adolescents include measures of overweight and obesity, and untreated dental caries.

For more information, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm

www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db87.htm

 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is the principal source of information on the 

health of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the U.S. Conducted by CDC’s National 

Center for Health Statistics, Division of Health Interview Statistics, the NHIS is a continuing 

survey with special studies to secure accurate and current statistical information on the 

amount, distribution, and effects of illness and disability in the U.S. and the services rendered 

for or because of such conditions. The Core questionnaire contains four major components: 

Household, Family, Sample Adult, and Sample Child.

For more information, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/about_nhis.htm

www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/new_nhis.htm
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 National Immunization Survey-Teen (NIS-Teen)

The NIS-Teen is conducted by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. NIS-Teen collects 

data by telephone interview of households in all 50 States, the District of Columbia. The survey 

asks questions about immunizations for adolescents 13-17 years of age and requests parental 

permission for contacting adolescents' vaccination providers (pediatricians, family physicians, 

and other health care providers) to assure the accuracy and precision of the vaccination 

coverage estimates and immunization data for surveyed adolescents.

For more information, please see: 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nis/about_nis.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6033a1.htm?s_cid=mm6033a1_w

 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS)

The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) is conducted by CDC’s 

National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Health Care Statistics. NHAMCS is designed to 

collect data on the utilization and provision of ambulatory care services in hospital emergency 

and outpatient departments. Findings are based on a national sample of visits to the 

emergency departments and outpatient departments of noninstitutional general and shortstay hospitals.

For more information, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/nchs/ahcd.htm

 National Hospital Discharge Survey 

The National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), which was conducted annually from 1965-

2010 by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Health Care Statistics, was a 

national probability survey designed to meet the need for information on characteristics of 

inpatients discharged from non-Federal short-stay hospitals in the U.S..

For more information, please see:

www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhds.htm

 National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS) 

The National Hospital Care Survey is a new survey conducted by CDC’s National Center for 

Health Statistics, Division of Health Care Statistics, that integrates inpatient data formerly 

collected by the National Hospital Discharge Survey with the emergency department (ED), 

outpatient department (OPD), and ambulatory surgery center (ASC) data collected by the 

National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). The integration of these two 

surveys along with the collection of personal identifiers (protected health information) will 

allow the linking of care provided to the same patient in the ED, OPD, ASC, and 

inpatient departments. It will also be possible to link the survey data to the National 
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Death Index and Medicaid and Medicare data to obtain a more complete picture of patient 

care.

For more information, please see:

www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhcs.htm

 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)

National Survey on Drug Use and Health is an annual survey sponsored by the Substance 

Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The survey is the 

primary source of information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco use and mental 

health in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the U.S. aged 12 years old and older. 

Participants are interviewed in the privacy of their own home.

For more information, please see:

https://nsduhweb.rti.org/RespWeb/project_description.html

www.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2k10NSDUH/2k10Results.htm

 National Survey of Children’s Health

This survey is sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and 

Services Administration and is conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics’ State and 

Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey (SLAITS). The National Survey of Children’s Health

examines the physical and emotional health of children through 17 years of age. Special 

emphasis is placed on factors that may relate to the well-being of children and adolescents, 

including medical homes, family interactions, parental health, school and after-school 

experiences, and safe neighborhoods. In 2011, questions were also asked about uninsured 

children from some households, to assess their parents' awareness of, experience with, and 

interest in enrolling in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

For more information, please see:

www.cdc.gov/nchs/slaits/nsch.htm

 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs

(NSCSHCN)

The National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs is conducted by CDC’s National 

Center for Health Statistics’ State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey (SLAITS). The 

primary goals of this survey are to assess the prevalence and impact of special health care 

needs among children in the U.S., and to evaluate change since its inception in 2001. This 

survey explores the extent to which children with special health care needs (CSHCN) have 

medical homes, adequate health insurance, access to needed services, adequate care 

coordination, and that parents are satisfied with their child’s care. Other topics include 

functional difficulties, transition services, and questions pertaining to specific sub-populations. 

Interviews are conducted with parents or guardians who know about the child's 

health. More than 190,000 households with children throughout the U.S. are 
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screened to identify approximately 750 CSHCN in each State and DC.

For more information, please see:

www.cdc.gov/nchs/slaits/cshcn.htm

http://mchb.hrsa.gov/cshcn05/MI/NSCSHCN.pdf

 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) 

CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics collects data on 

factors affecting family formation, growth, and dissolution—including marriage, divorce, and 

cohabitation; contraception, sterilization, and infertility; pregnancy outcomes; and births 

through in-person interviews of the household population of males and females aged 15–44 in 

the U.S.

For more information, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/about_nsfg.htm

www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_031.pdf

 State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey

The State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey (SLAITS) collects important health care 

data at State and local levels. This data collection mechanism was developed by CDC’s 

National Center for Health Statistics. It supplements current national data collection strategies 

by providing in-depth State and local area data to meet various program and policy needs in 

an ever-changing health care system.

For more information, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/nchs/slaits.htm

 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) 

The YRBSS is a national school-based survey of students in grades 8, 10, and 12 conducted by 

CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health among adolescents at the national, state, 

territorial, tribal, and local levels. The YRBSS monitors six categories of priority health-risk 

behaviors (behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence, tobacco use, 

alcohol and other drug use, sexual risk behaviors, unhealthy dietary behaviors, physical 

inactivity) plus obesity and asthma.

For more information, please see: 

www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/index.htm

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss5905.pdf