Demand for a National System of Federal, State, and Local Population Health Statistics

Population health data at local and state levels are needed to address social disparities in health and evaluate and monitor progress in achieving the goals of national health care reform. Numerous Institute of Medicine studies, federal reports and non-governmental policy papers have urged local data collection. For example, the 2002 report on "Shaping a Health Statistics Vision for the 21st Century," jointly developed by the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), and the DHHS Data Council, argued that a major gap in data and statistics that can inform national health policy is the absence of consistent data on local areas, states and the nation. The recent "State of the USA Health Indicators" report of the IOM called for developing health indicators data at local and state levels that are coordinated with national data. In addition, a scientific analysis and statement by the American Heart Association emphasized the importance of including local and state data as well as other information relevant to disparities in its recommendations for a national surveillance system for prevention and management of heart disease and stroke. Finally, the recent House and Senate health care reform bills both proposed steps to meet that need. These examples all emphasize an urgent need for comparable population health data at the local, state, and national levels.