Limitations of NATIONAL DATA Sets for Examining HEALTH Disparities

This presentation will focus on limitations of data from national surveys and databases for health disparities and health services research. Datasets include data collected from surveys from population-based registries for purposes of national health surveillance and from administrative claims data. These data sets while, very useful for providing a description of the nation's health are often limited in terms of what questions can be answered for researchers who desire to explore health disparities and health services related issues. The objective of this presentation is to help attendees develop an understanding of appropriate uses of these datasets for examining questions that focus on health disparities and health services research. Included will be a discussion of strategies for overcoming limitations and for working within the confines of these data for examining treatment trends, service utilization and behavioral risks. Examples will be provided from National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS), the Health Information and National Trends Survey (HINTS), Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) and SEER-Medicare databases.