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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1960 |
| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
| Headquarters | Hyattsville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Employees | 700–750 |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | United States Department of Health and Human Services |
| Website | www |
TheNational Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is a U.S. government agency that provides statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve thepublic health of the American people. It is a unit of theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a principal agency of theU.S. Federal Statistical System. It is headquartered atUniversity Town Center inHyattsville, Maryland, just outsideWashington, D.C.
TheMarine Hospital Service, predecessor of thePublic Health Service (PHS), began collecting data on communicable diseases and performingsurveillance of the incidence and distribution of diseases due to an 1878 act of Congress. In 1893, another law provided for weekly collection of data from state and municipal authorities.[1]
TheDivision of Sanitary Reports and Statistics was established in 1899 as part of the initial establishment of internal divisions within the Marine Hospital Service.[2] Separately, theDivision of Public Health Methods was formed in 1937 within theNational Institute of Health.[3] In 1943, these two divisions were merged, retaining the name Division of Public Health Methods but being transferred into theOffice of the Surgeon General.[2]
In 1946, the Division of Public Health Methods absorbed the Vital Statistics Division, which dated from 1903, from theBureau of the Census in theDepartment of Commerce. The merged division was renamed theNational Office of Vital Statistics. It was then transferred into the PHSBureau of State Services in 1949.[2][4]
In 1960, the National Office of Vital Statistics and the National Health Survey merged to form the National Center for Health Statistics.[5] The National Health Survey had been created within PHS in 1956 through the National Health Survey Act (Pub. L. 84–652); it was the successor to a seminal national health survey performed by theWorks Progress Administration during 1935–1936, which had multiple supplemental studies carried out in the intervening decades.[1]
During thePHS reorganizations of 1966–1973, the National Center for Health Statistics was part of the Health Services and Mental Health Administration (HSMHA),[6] and afterwards was part of theHealth Resources Administration.[7] Since 1987, it has been part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).[5]
NCHS collects data with surveys, from other agencies and U.S. states, from administrative sources, and from partnerships with private health partners. NCHS collects data from birth and death records, medical records, interview surveys, and through direct physical examinations and laboratory testing. These diverse sources give perspectives to help understand the U.S. population's health, health outcomes, and influences on health.[8]
There are four major data collection programs at NCHS:[5]
TheNational Vital Statistics System (NVSS) collects officialvital statistics data based on the collection and registration of birth and death events at the state and local levels. NCHS works in partnership with the vital registration systems in eachjurisdiction to produce critical information on such topics as teenage births and birth rates, prenatal care and birth weight,risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes, infant mortality rates, leadingcauses of death, andlife expectancy.[citation needed]
TheNational Health Interview Survey (NHIS) provides information on the health status of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population through confidentialinterviews conducted in households byCensus Bureau interviewers. NHIS is the Nation's largest in-person household health survey, providing data on health status, access to and use of health services,health insurance coverage,immunizations,risk factors, and health-relatedbehaviors.[citation needed]
TheNational Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is NCHS's most in-depth andlogistically complex survey, operating out of mobile examination centers that travel to randomly selected sites throughout the U.S. to assess the health and nutritional status of Americans. This survey combines personal interviews with standardizedphysical examinations,diagnostic procedures, andlaboratory tests to obtain information about diagnosed and undiagnosed conditions; growth and development, includingoverweight andobesity;diet andnutrition;risk factors; and environmental exposures.[citation needed]
TheNational Health Care Surveys provide information about the organizations and providers that supplyhealth care, the services they render, and the patients they serve. Provider sites surveyed include physician offices,community health centers,ambulatory surgery centers, hospitaloutpatient andemergency departments,inpatient hospital units,residential care facilities,nursing homes,home health care agencies, andhospice organizations. The National Health Care Surveys are used to study resource use, includingstaffing; quality of care, including patient safety; clinical management of specific conditions;disparities in the use and quality of care; and diffusion of health care technologies, includingdrugs,surgical procedures, and information technologies.
In addition to its major data collection programs,NCHS conductstargeted surveys and augments survey data where possible. NCHS conducts theNational Survey of Family Growth to obtain information on factors affecting birth and pregnancy rates, adoptions, and maternal and infant health, and supplements the information obtained on birth certificates collected through the National Vital Statistics System. NCHS'sState and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey (SLAITS) produces state-level data on such topics as the health of children with special needs, to meet the data needs of its colleagues inHHS's Maternal and Child Health Bureau and elsewhere. NCHS'sNational Immunization Survey is conducted in collaboration with otherCDC offices in Atlanta. NCHS'sNational Death Index creates alongitudinal component to other routine data systems. NCHS'sQuestionnaire Design Research Laboratory develops and tests survey and data collection instruments for use by NCHS and other federal agencies and research organizations.[5]
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