The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) collects information on how people living in the United States spend their time. Estimates show the kinds of activities people do and the time spent doing them by sex, age, educational attainment, labor force status, and other characteristics, as well as by weekday and weekend day. Published tables, charts and microdata files are available on the ATUS website.
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an on-going telephone health survey that has tracked American health conditions and risk behaviors yearly since 1984. Information by state on health issues such as asthma, diabetes, health care access, alcohol use, hypertension, obesity and more are provided.
Community Reports provides information and insights about the 12 communities that the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) is studying to better understand the changing health system and variations across markets.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor conducts a survey on household expenditure with three objectives: (1) to provide information on consumer expenditures; (2) to provide data for social and economic analyses; and (3) to provide expenditure and income data for research purposes.
The Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) program provides monthly data on changes in the prices urban consumers pay for a representative group of goods and services.
The survey, which provides information on diet intake, is nationally representative of noninstitionalized individuals in all 50 States, with an oversampling of low-income residents. Data collected include food and nutrient intake for up to 2 days, where the food was obtained, nutrient and food group intake, race, sex, age, ethnicity, height and weight, household income and composition, food stamp and WIC program participation, education and employment status of those 15 years of age and over, and diet and health knowledge of a sample of individuals 20 years and older who completed at least 1 day of intake.
The CPS is a large, nationally representative monthly survey that uses information obtained from approximately 50,000 households to provide information on the labor force of the U.S. population, such as, employment, unemployment, and hours of work. The March CPS Supplement provides data on annual income and food assistance program participation in addition to labor force data.
The ECLS-B is an ongoing nationally representative sample of about 12,000 children born in 2001 who will be followed through the first grade by gathering information from parents, teachers, birth records and the children themselves. The study’s focus is on factors affecting readiness for school. Study participants come from diverse socioeconomic and racial/ethnic backgrounds, with over-samples of children who are Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian, or Chinese; twins; and children with low and very low birth weights. Information on the children is collected at 9 months old, 2 years old, 4 years old, and in kindergarten and first grade.
The ECLS-K is a nationally representative sample of about 22,000 children in kindergarten through fifth grade. The study is an ongoing longitudinal study that includes the children's parents, teachers, and schools as participants. Information is collected on: children's cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development (i.e., height and weight); home environment and home educational practices; school environment, classroom environment, and classroom curriculum; participation in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and Food Stamp Program; and household food security status.
The Food and Nutrition Service Program Operations Data provide statistical information on major Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) food and nutrition assistance programs. These programs include the Food Stamp Program; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); Child Nutrition Programs (National School Lunch, School Breakfast, Child and Adult Care, Summer Food Service, and Special Milk); and Food Distribution Programs (Schools, Emergency Food Assistance, Indian Reservations, Commodity Supplemental, Nutrition for the Elderly, and Charitable Institutions).
The USDA ERS food availability (per capita) data system includes three data series on food consumption, data on nutrient availability in the food supply and data on loss-adjusted food availability. Data on food availability at the national level is available through 2005.
USDA has developed a standardized survey module for assessing food security status which is used in a number of national surveys, such as the U.S. Census Bureau Population Survey.
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) contracted with Abt Associates to collect a national sample of approximately 10,000 food stamp households per State. The Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) database was used to assemble the sample and provided a record of every purchase including the time, place and amount of the purchase. Subsets of the data identified store characteristics and household characteristics.
In 2000, the FSPAS, which is centered around a nationally representative sample of local food stamp offices, conducted a systematic and comprehensive study looking at how local program policies and procedures influenced potentially eligible households’ participation in the Food Stamp Program. Samples of food stamp caseworkers and their supervisors were selected within the sampled offices and interviewed about local office policies and practices that might affect access to the FSP. For the geographic area served by each office, samples were drawn of food stamp eligible nonparticipants, food stamp applicants, households recertifying for food stamp benefits, and households leaving the FSP.
The FSPQC database is a nationally representative sample of approximately 50,000 FSP units (“households”) and contains information on demographic, economic and Food Stamp Program eligibility information. Data is generated from monthly quality control reviews of FSP cases that are conducted by State FSP agencies to assess the eligibility determinations and benefit calculation accuracy for the State’s FSP caseload.
The Urban Institute, with funding from the FANRP program, prepared the Food Stamp Program State Rules Database and associated documentation as a data source for State policy options in the Food Stamp Program.
The University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study (HRS) surveys more than 22,000 Americans over the age of 50 every two years. Supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA U01AG009740), the study paints an emerging portrait of an aging America's physical and mental health, insurance coverage, financial status, family support systems, labor market status, and retirement planning.
Healthcare for Communities (a baseline survey in 1997-98 and a follow-up in 2000-01) provides information on the function and changes of the healthcare system for people who have alcohol, drug abuse and mental health conditions. Changes in health policy, health care delivery, access to care, and costs and outcomes of care related to ADM conditions are tracked by HCC and BMI is assessed.
LSOAs is a multicohort study of Americans age 70 or older that measures changes in health, living arrangements, functional status, and health services. The study is comprised of four surveys: 1984, 1984-1990, 1994, 1994-2000.
The Medical Expenditures Panel Survey includes data on health services Americans use, how frequently they are used, the cost, and how they are paid for. Data is also available on the cost, scope and breadth of private health insurance that is held by and available to the U.S. population.
In 1994/95, the MacArthur Midlife Research Network carried out a national survey of over 7,000 Americans aged 25 to 74. The study investigated the role of behavioral, psychological, and social factors in understanding physical and mental health age-related differences. The second wave MISUA II provides follow-up on the psychosocial, sociodemographic, and health variables assessed in MIDUS I, follow-up on the daily diary study, new cognitive assessments for the full MIDUS sample, plus longitudinal follow-up for the cognitive subsample from MIDUS I.
The 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 United States. Findings are based on a sample of visits to nonfederally employed office-based physicians who are primarily engaged in direct patient care. Physicians in the specialties of anesthesiology, pathology, and radiology are excluded from the survey. The survey was conducted annually from 1973 to 1981, in 1985, and annually since 1989. Data about diet/nutrition counseling are included.
NFSPS is a 1996 survey that collected information on client satisfaction of services provided by food stamp offices and agencies, the monetary and nonmonetary costs of participating in the Food Stamp Program (FSP), behaviors of food shopping, items related to food security, and the availability of nutrient foods to a nationally representative sample of participants and potential participants of the Food Stamp Program. In addition, a sub-sample of 1,000 of these households was surveyed to find out information on their dietary knowledge and attitudes, and a 7-day household food use record was collected.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey is an ongoing survey that assesses the health and nutritional status of the US population and monitors changes over time. The survey provides data for nutrition monitoring purposes and provides information on how to study the relationships among diet, nutritional status and health. Dietary data is obtained by a 24-hour dietary recall.
The National Health Interview Survey obtains information about the amount and distribution of illness, its effects in terms of disability and chronic impairments, and the types of health services people receive. The survey is nationally representative and since 1957, has been conducted annually through in-person household interviews and computer programs. The Cancer Epidemiology Supplement examines the frequency and portion sizes of foods and drinks, vitamin and mineral intake, hormone use, family's and respondent's history of cancer, and respondent's height and weight.
The NLSAH Add Health study is a nationally representative, school-based study of youths followed into youth adulthood. During wave I in 1994-1995 (youths grades 7-12, approximately 12-17 years of age) and wave II in 1996 information was gathered on self-reported weight and height. Wave II, which occurred in 2001-2002 (study participants were 18-26 years of age), gathered data directly by measuring weight and height.
The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997) is a nationally representative and longitudinal study of a sample of roughly 9,000 young men and women ages 12 to 16 designed to document the transition from school to work to adulthood. Information on the youth’s education background and labor market behavior was collected and youths were interviewed annually.
The National Longitudinal Survey of Youths (1979) was a nationally representative and longitudinally study of 12,685 young men and women ages 14-22 who were first surveyed in 1979 and interviewed until 1994. Information is gathered in event history format on labor force activity, marital status, fertility, and participation in government assistance programs.
28.1 National Longitudinal Survey of Youths (NLSY79) Children and Young Adults
The NLSY79CYA began in 1986 and collects information biennially on all of the children born to the women in the NLSY79. The NLSY79CYA contains both mother-reported and interviewer-measured weight and height information for children ages 5–14, and self-reported weights and heights for children 14–18.
The National Long-Term Care Survey is a nationally representative and longitudinal survey made up of a sample of community and institutional populations designed to study the changes in health and functional status of older Americans (65+). The survey was completed in six waves in 5 year intervals, 1982, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, and 2004 and at each wave, a screener questionnaire is administered to the sample. The sample population is divided into three parts: the non-disabled, the disabled but living in the community, and the disabled living in an institution.
The Urban Institute conducts the NSAF which is a study that provides quantitative quality-of-life measures and looks comprehensively at the well-being of adults and children, specifically low-income families. This survey is representative of the noninstitutionalized, civilian population of persons under age 65 in the US as a whole and in 13 States: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
This survey, sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration, examines the physical and emotional health of children ages 0-17 years of age. Special emphasis is placed on factors that may relate to well-being of children, including medical homes, family interactions, parental health, school and after-school experiences, and safe neighborhoods.
The NESARC was conducted and sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The NESARC is the primary source for information and data on the U.S. population for: alcohol and drug use; alcohol and drug abuse and dependence; and associated psychiatric and other medical comorbidities.
As a consumer-based survey of food purchases, the Nielsen Homescan Survey collects data from a large, national panel of households that report on each food shopping occasion at traditional food stores, nontraditional food retailers and online merchants. The panelists scan the barcodes of all purchased products and record the quantity, date, and store the product was purchased at and whether the product was on promotion or on sale.
The PSID is a representative, longitudinal study of U.S. individuals and their families including an oversampling of the low-income population that began in 1968. Information has been collected on more than 60,000 individuals spanning as much as 30 years of their lives. The data’s central focus is economic and demographic variables that can be used for research on dynamic processes.
PPI measures the average change in domestic producer selling prices over time from the perspective of the seller. There are three main PPI publication structures: Industry-based, Commodity-based, Stage-of-processing based.
The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) is a national survey that assesses school health policies and programs in elementary, middle/junior, and senior high schools at the State, district, school, and classroom levels. The study was conducted in 1994, 2000 and 2006.
The Study of Women’s Health across the Nation (SWAN) is a multi-site longitudinal, epidemiologic study that began in 1994 to examine the physical, biological, psychological and social changes of women during their middle years.
The SIPP collects information on income by source, employment, program participation and eligibility, and general demographic characteristics, which is used to measure how effective existing Federal and State programs are. The SIPP is also used to estimate future costs and coverage for government programs, like food stamps; and to improve U.S. distribution of income statistics in the country.
The data provides information on changes in consumption in England and America between 1550 and 1800. The probate inventories (Parts 1-11) have information on personal wealth, household production, and the possession of consumer durables and semi-durables. The household survey for England circa 1790 (Part 12) includes information on diets as well as household expenditures.
The WHO Global Database on body mass index provides a database of national and sub-national prevalence rates of adults who are underweight, overweight and obese. The database shows rates by country, year of the survey and gender.
In 1990, the YRBSS was developed to monitor priority health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading cause of death, disability, and social problems in the US among youth and adults. These healthy risk behaviors, which include tobacco use, unhealthy dietary behaviors, inadequate physical activity, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence, are often established during childhood and early adolescence.
42. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)
Detailing the Factors Behind Traffic Fatalities on our Roads - FARS is a nationwide census providing NHTSA, Congress and the American public yearly data regarding fatal injuries suffered in motor vehicle traffic crashes.
43. National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study (NYPANS)
The National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study (NYPANS) was conducted in 2010 with three main purposes:
- To provide nationally representative data on behaviors and behavioral determinants related to nutrition and physical activity among high school students
- To provide data to help improve the clarity and strengthen the validity of questions on the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)
- To understand the associations among behaviors and behavioral determinants related to physical activity and nutrition and their association with body mass index