Community Health Status Indicators Project: Data and information needs identified by localities and states

The Community Health Status Report is a collection of nationally available indicators for counties representing several areas of responsibility for public health. The major goal of the Community Health Status Indicators (CHSI) project was to provide easy to understand reports that conveyed the breadth of public health issues and the uniqueness of local needs and assets. In 1998, CHSI project was initiated to begin addressing unmet data and information needs identified by localities and states. With funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and Public Health Foundation (PHF) engaged in a pilot to develop, implement, and evaluate county-specific health status profiles for all counties in the U.S. In August 2000, the web based, printable versions of CHSI reports for 3,082 counties were released, containing information on demographics, cause-specific mortality, life expectancy, infectious diseases, environmental health, and other indicators important to public health in communities. This September there will be a launch of a new web site and a five-year update of the information presented in the CHSI profiles for every county along with a fully accessible database. The Community Health Status Indicators Project will result in local and state public health agencies, boards of health, communities, policymakers, researchers, and others having online access to comprehensive data and useful information about the health of all counties in the United States. This information can assist policy development and planning.