| Data Source |
Primary Content |
Population Targeted |
Demographic Data |
Schedule |
Is This a Source of Primary or Secondary Data? |
How / When / Where the Information Might Be Used |
| National Immunization Survey – Child (NIS-Child) |
The data include vaccination status and timing for diseases such as diphtheria, mumps, polio, and measles. |
The data is collected for children aged 19 to 35 months living in the U.S. during the interview time (AHRQ, 2019). |
Sex, race/ethnicity, people’s locations, income, Census Bureau region. |
Quarterly samples, albeit reported annually. |
Primary data; it is collected via interviews. |
The data can be used when examining the health status and vulnerabilities of populations. It can also be used when determining the interventions necessary to improve population’s health such as health education, screening, and vaccination programs. |
| National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) |
A family’s chronic health conditions, behaviors, health care access and provider contacts, activity limitations, and immunizations. |
NHIS primarily targets the civilian non-institutionalized population in the U.S. |
Sex, age, race/ethnicity, education, and income. Other essential data include marital status, birth place, occupation, and industry. |
Annual |
Primary data; NHIS is a cross-sectional household interview survey (AHRQ, 2019). |
Data can be used when determining people’s health and the impacts of social determinants of health on people, health, and well-being. |
| National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) |
Information on health status, dietary intake and nutritional status, environmental health and risk factors, and infectious diseases and immunization status. |
The civilian non-institutionalized population in the U.S. |
Sex, age, race. Origin (Hispanic), level of education, birth place, occupation, and income. |
The data is fielded periodically. |
Primary data source; consists of questionnaires administered at home. Standardized physical examination of the target population follows, particularly through mobile examination centers. |
It can be used when exploring people’s risk of lifestyle diseases. Gherasim et al. (2020) mentioned that dietary intake and nutritional status determine people’s risk of lifestyle diseases such as obesity and diabetes. NHANES can be a reliable data source for such information among the non-institutionalized population living in the U.S. |
| National HIV/AIDS Surveillance System |
HIV’s mode of exposure and case definition category and any other relevant clinical information. |
The entire U.S. population and territories. |
Age, sex, race, ethnicity, residence state and county, birth country, and whether a person is alive or not. |
Published annually. |
Secondary; health centers send data to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). |
It can be used when examining country’s progress in fighting HIV infection. |
| CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). |
Data on preventive health practices and risk behaviors related to chronic diseases, injuries, and preventive infectious diseases among adults. |
U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population residing in households. |
Sex, age, education, race, ethnicity, income, marital status, and employment status. |
Annual, albeit the data being collected monthly. |
Primary; telephone health surveys. |
A reliable source when determining people’s health practices and risk behaviors for chronic diseases. Risk factors for chronic diseases include alcohol and tobacco use, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition (CDC, 2021). |