National Health Interview Survey (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—A survey that assess family demographics, income, and health care accessibility. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—A survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics that collects information regarding the health and diet of people in the United States through the use of interviews and a health test. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm

National Mortality Data (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—Data collected through death certificates related to cause of death and basic demographics. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/dvs/desc.htm

National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)—Data collected annually on child maltreatment from state child protective services agencies. http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/factsheets/canstats.cfm

Current Population Survey (Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau—A monthly survey of about 55,000 households, the CPS is the primary source of information on the labor force characteristics of the noninstitutionalized U.S. population. Periodic supplements provide information on school enrollment, income, health, employee benefits, and work schedules. http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/overmain.htm

Survey of Children with Special Health Care Need (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—A one-time survey designed to produce estimates of the number of children with special health care needs in each state, to describe the types of services that they need and use, to assess shortcomings in the system of care, and to provide estimates of health care coverage for all children. It is unclear whether it will be repeated. http://www.cdc.gov/nis/faq_chscn.htm

Disease Surveillance Systems (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—Disease surveillance systems provide for the ongoing collection, analysis, and dissemination of data to prevent and control disease. Disease surveillance data are used by public health professionals, medical professionals, private industry, and interested members of the public. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/osr/

National Health Care Survey (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—The survey collects data on the health care field and monitors health care use, the impact of medical technology, and the quality of care provided to a changing U.S. population. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhcs.htm

National Survey of America’s Families (Urban Institute)—The National Survey of American Families periodically gathers data on the well-being of children and adults for both a national sample and for large state samples 13 states. The survey provides quantitative measures of child, adult, and family well-being in America, with an emphasis on persons in low-income families. The survey incorporates ways of measuring changes in child well-being designed by Child Trends. http://www.urban.org/Content/Research/NewFederalism/AboutANF/AboutANF.htm

Decennial Census (U.S. Census Bureau)—The decennial census collects population and housing data from the entire U.S. population and selective demographic data (e.g., ancestry, disability, income) from a 1-in-6 sample population subsample. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet?_lang=en

National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health (formerly National Household Survey of Drug Abuse; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)—A survey on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse in the United States. http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/nhsda.htm

Global Youth Tobacco Survey (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—World Health Organization and CDC developed the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) to track tobacco use among youth across countries using a common methodology and core questionnaire. The surveillance system is intended to enhance the capacity of countries to design, implement, and evaluate tobacco control and prevention programs. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/global/gyts/GYTS_intro.htm

Youth Risk Behavior Survey (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—A nationally coordinated survey of each state that identifies high-risk youth behaviors through the use of school and classroom samples. Data from this survey are available for participating states every 2 years, enabling the monitoring of trends in risky youth behavior. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/yrbs/yrbsaag.htm

Monitoring the Future (Survey Research Center, University of Michigan)—Monitoring the Future is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of U.S. secondary school students, college students, and young adults. Each year, a total of about 50,000 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students are surveyed (12th graders since 1975, and 8th and 10th graders since 1991). In addition, annual follow-up questionnaires are mailed to a sample of each graduating class for a number of years after their initial participation. http://monitoringthefuture.org/

National Survey of Family Growth (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—The purpose of this survey is to provide information on marriage, divorce, contraception, infertility, and the health of women and infants in the United States. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nsfg/nsfgback.htm

National Mortality Follow-Back Survey (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—Uses a sample of U.S. residents who die in a given year to supplement the death certificate data with information from the next of kin or another person familiar with the decedent’s life history. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nmfs/desc.htm

Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Washington State Department of Health)—An ongoing survey that collects data before, during, and shortly after pregnancy. It provides information on intendedness of pregnancy, use of alcohol and tobacco, baby’s sleeping position, percentage of women breastfeeding, social support, and battering during pregnancy. http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/prams/default.htm#What

National Immunization Survey (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—A list-assisted random-digit-dialing telephone survey that began data collection in April 1994 to monitor childhood immunization. The target population is children between the ages of 19 and 35 months living in the United States at the time of the interview. http://www.cdc.gov/nis/

National Survey of Early Childhood Health (Maternal and Child Health Bureau and American Academy of Pediatrics)—A national random telephone survey with parents of over 2,000 children ages 4 to 35 months. The goal is to improve the understanding of household experiences in conjunction with preventive pediatric care in addition to the various methods used by families to promote children’s health in the household. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/slaits/nsech.htm

National Household Education Surveys Program (U.S. Department of Education)—A data collection system of the National Center for Education Statistics designed to address a wide range of education-related issues. The specific surveys included in this program include Adult Education; Before and After School Programs and Activities; Civic Involvement; Early Childhood Program Participation; Household Library Use; Parent and Family Involvement in Education; School Readiness and School Safety and Discipline. http://nces.ed.gov/nhes/

National Survey of Children’s Health (Maternal and Child Health Bureau and National Center for Health Statistics)—A partnership that is currently collecting information on 2,000 children per state through a random-digit-dialing telephone survey intended to identify information on demographics, health and function status, health insurance coverage, health care access and utilization, family and neighboring functioning, and age-specific issues. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/slaits/nsch.htm

National Survey of Families and Households (Center for Demography, University of Wisconsin)—The National Survey of Families and Households consists of three waves. The first wave was 1987–1988, the second was the 5-year follow-up (1992–1994), and the third was from 2001 to 2002. This survey collects information on life history, including the respondent’s family living arrangements in childhood, departures and returns to the parental home, and histories of marriage, cohabitation, education, fertility, and employment. http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/nsfh/home.htm

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)—The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) has four components: (1) Household (2) Nursing Home (3) Medical Provider and (4) Insurance. MEPS collects data on the specific health services used, frequency of use, the cost of these services, how they are paid for, as well as data on the cost, scope, and breadth of private health insurance held by and available to the U.S. population. http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/WhatIsMEPS/Overview.HTM#Background

Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey—Kindergarten Cohort (U.S. Department of Education)—An ongoing effort by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics that follows a nationally representative sample of approximately 22,000 children from kindergarten through 5th grade. Information on children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development; children’s home environment; home educational practices; school environment; classroom environment; classroom curriculum; and teacher qualifications are provided by the school, teachers, and families. http://nces.ed.gov/ecls/kindergarten/studybrief.asp

National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (also known as Add Health; Carolina Population Center)—A school-based longitudinal study of the health-related behaviors of adolescents in grades 7 to 12 designed to explore the causes of these behaviors, with an emphasis on the influence of social context, such as families, friends, schools, and communities. http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/design

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (U.S. Department of Labor)—A longitudinal survey that collects information on adolescents ages 12 to 16 who are transitioning from the school to work environments. http://www.bls.gov/nls/home.htm Note: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 also provides longitudinal data on an adolescent cohort and the children born to them. http://www.bls.gov/nls/nlsy79.htm

National Linked Birth/Death Data (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)—Established in 1983, a research dataset comprised of linked birth and death certificates for infants born in the United States who died before reaching 1 year of age. The purpose of this linkage is to use the many additional variables available from the birth certificate in infant mortality analysis in order to provide insight into the major factors influencing infant mortality in the United States. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/elec_prods/subject/linkedbd.htm#description1

Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey—Birth Cohort (U.S. Department of Education)—A study that provides detailed information on children’s development, health, early care, and education that follows a nationally representative sample of approximately 13,500 children born in 2001 from 9 months of age through the 1st grade. http://nces.ed.gov/ecls/Birth/studybrief.asp

Survey of Income and Program Participation (U.S. Census Bureau)—A primary purpose of this survey is to measure the receipt of benefits from federal, state, and local programs and provide more accurate estimates on the distribution and dynamics of income in the country. http://www.sipp.census.gov/sipp/sippov98.htm

National Vital Statistics Data (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vital Statistics of the United States)—Statistics collected at birth, marriage, divorce, and death and published on an annual basis. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/vsus/vsus.htm