Resources for Students and Librarians

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) compiles statistical information that is used in research by a broad audience including health professionals, policy makers, physicians, health providers, and researchers. This page gathers important sources of information found on the NCHS website of interest to students and librarians.

Research Aids

Publications and Information Products

Information on the country’s health is constantly changing. Over the years, NCHS has been instrumental in monitoring important changes in health trends. Each year, NCHS distributes hundreds of reports and other publications in a variety of formats, both electronic and hard copy.

• NCHS Publications and Information Products
  Descriptions of recurring and historic publications. Search for a publication using specified search criteria (e.g., keywords, title, and subject).
• NCHS Fact Sheets
  Quick guides presenting specific health topics and NCHS surveys and data-collection systems.
• NCHS E-Mail Updates
  Free e-mail subscription service, which allows users to receive timely notifications when publications and information products become available.
• NCHS Listservs
• Publications Using NCHS Data
  List of reports, articles, journals, studies, and other publications citing data from NCHS surveys.
• How to Cite NCHS Publications and Other Products

Data and Statistics by Topic

NCHS provides a number of resources for quick access to statistics on important public health topics.

• FastStats: Statistics by Topic
  A-Z index of major statistics on various health topics. References to source material and related pages are provided as well.
• Health, United States
  Health, United States presents national trends in health statistics on such topics as birth and death rates, infant mortality, life expectancy, morbidity and health status, risk factors, use of ambulatory and inpatient care, health personnel and facilities, financing of health care, health insurance, and other health topics.
• Summary Health Statistics from the National Health Interview Survey
  Summary Health Statistics are tables of descriptive statistics for various health measures including health status, conditions, health behaviors, activity limitations, health insurance coverage, and access and utilization of health care. Measures are shown for selected characteristics such as sex, age, race, ethnicity, family income, and region of the United States.
• Key Statistics from the National Survey of Family Growth
  Main findings from the National Survey of Family Growth. All results are from published reports and include references to the source material.

Outreach

NCHS Data Detectives Camp

The NCHS Data Detectives Camp is a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) summer camp that focuses on statistics for rising 6th and 7th grade students. This one-week commuter day camp is an exciting opportunity for boys and girls to learn about statistics through a variety of fun, hands-on activities!

Additional information and applications for the summer 2017 camp will be available soon.

 

Health Statistics Day

In 2016, the Health Statistics Day workshop was organized to emphasize significance of education in statistical sciences towards any career path or profession for high school students. The objective of this workshop is to provide an opportunity to young high school students to learn about the importance of higher education in statistical sciences and its applications in public health. The program is designed as an outreach activity for young high school students to learn about the field of health statistics and career opportunities in statistics and public health from the country’s leading health statistical agency, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

Additional information for the forthcoming workshop will be available at the NCHS Health Statistics Day page.

 

Employment Opportunities

NCHS offers a number of employment opportunities for students and recent graduates including fellowships, postdoctoral research programs, and internships or summer employment through the Pathways Program. Opportunities are posted regularly on the NCHS employment opportunities page.