Nassau County Department of Health

The Nassau County Department of Health supports the collection and dissemination of health data for public health research and education. The department regularly publishes health information in the Community Health Assessment, the Annual Report, and in the Municipal Public Health Services Plan and Performance Report. This page lists resources for health-related data and information.

Nassau County Health Department Reports and Resources

Report on the Findings of the 2006 Nassau County Behavioral Risk Factor Survey. It can be accessed by clicking here - ( ~1 Mb pdf file ).

Community Health Assessment

NEW! The 2010-2013 Community Health Assessment is a comprehensive report of the health status of Nassau County that contains the most recently available data with analysis and narrative. The Assessment consists of three volumes and can be accessed by clicking on the links below:

Volume I-Demographic and Health Resource Data

Volume III-Local Health Issues, Priorities and Opportunities for Action

Diabetes: From the National, State and Local Perspective

Falls Among Older Adults: From the National, State and Local Perspective

The Nassau County Department of Health Annual Report presents information on the activities and accomplishments of the department. Click on the below lin to access the 2008 Annual Report:

2009 Nassau County Department of Health Annual Report

Lead In Artificial Turf

CDC Advisory: "Potential Exposure to Lead in Artificial Turf"

Demographic Data

The Census Bureau of the United States Department of Commerce is the single most comprehensive source of demographic, social and economic data for US populations. Information can be obtained down to the zip code and census tract level. Enter the site at www.census.gov . For easy access to commonly requested state and county data, use the “State & County Quick Facts” drop-down menu on the right side of the home page. For more detailed local information, click on “Your Gateway to Census 2000” at the top of the page. Follow the links from “American FactFinder” to “Data Sets”. For the data set in which you are interested, choose “Custom Table”. Zip-code level data is available under the “geo within geo” tab. Choose “Show me all 5-Digit ZIP Code Tabulation Areas” from the first drop-down menu and follow the prompts.

Nassau County Youth Board Reports

The Nassau County Youth Board has prepared a set of Community Profiles. Information is available at the zip-code level and includes data on demographics, projections for population growth, temporary assistance to needy families (formerly AFDC), youth criminal offenses, runaway and homeless youth, school enrollment and dropout rates, birth and fertility rates, and Hispanic population estimates. www.NCYB.org

The Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemologic Research (WONDER) site provides a single point of access to the many public health reports and data sets prepared and maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC). Subjects include leading causes of death, health risk behaviors, injury control and occupational health. Most data is on the national level, but state and some limited local data is available. wonder.cdc.gov.

Disease Information Websites

The New York State Department of Health homepage offers access to state and local health information. Choose “Info for Researchers” from the menu along the left side of the page. From here you may choose your area of interest. The “County Health Indicator Profiles” link will provide access to tables of health data at the county level. The “Cancer Surveillance Improvement Initiative” button will link you to zip-code level cancer incidence tables and maps. The “Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS)” refers to hospitalization data. “Vital Statistics” refers to birth and death data. www.health.state.ny.us

The following are examples of the many disease-specific sites on the internet.

Alzheimer’s Disease

The Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center supplies information, research, and publications about Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias. www.alzheimers.org

The American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology offers both patient and professional information as well as physician referrals. www.aaaai.org/

The federal government provides information and statistics on cancer, links to clinical trials and research programs as well as details on research funding. cancer.gov/cancerinformation.

The US Food and Drug Administration offers a list of facilities that provide mammography which are certified as meeting baseline quality standards. The list is searchable by area or zip code. www.fda.gov/cdrh/mammography/certified.html

The American Heart Association provides links to warning signs of heart disease and stroke, professional data, information on CPR training, and advice on healthy lifestyles. www.americanheart.org/

The National Library of Medicine’s MEDLINEplus has “extensive information from the National Institutes of Health and other trusted sources on over 600 diseases and conditions. There are also lists of hospitals and physicians, a medical encyclopedia, a medical dictionary and health information in Spanish.” www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/

Research and Public Health Organization Websites

Cochrane Collection

The Cochrane Collaboration is an international organization whose goal is to provide patients and professionals with up-to-date, accurate, evidence-based information on health care interventions by performing systematic reviews of published clinical studies. www.cochrane.de/index.htm

The New York State Association of County Health Officials (NYSACHO) serves as an advocate for public health in New York State and provides education and training programs. www.nysacho.org/

The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report contains provisional health data based on weekly reports submitted by state health departments. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/

The National Library of Medicine’s PubMed provides access to over 11 million MEDLINE citations some of which provide full text articles. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed

The Simple Interactive Statistical Analysis (SISA) homepage will allow you to conduct statistical analysis directly on the internet. You click on the procedure and fill in the form. The analysis takes place immediately. Guides are available to help you decide which procedures are appropriate to your problem. home.clara.net/sisa/

Before You Begin

Before researching health data, it helps to define your goals, needs and resources. This initial work will make your efforts more focused, efficient and productive. The following 3 questions are based on a much more comprehensive treatment of the subject that can be found in the Community Toolbox, which is part of the Turning Point Initiative of the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation. (http://www.rwjf.org/publications/communitytoolbox.jhtml)

1. What is the value and purpose of the information that you will collect? Why, exactly, does your group need this information? How will you use it?

2. What, exactly, do you want to know? In what diseases, causes of death, risk factors or health-related behaviors are you interested? Are you just looking for statistics, or do you want to collect some qualitative information as well? Are you interested in incidence rates, or prevalence rates, or both? Over how long a period of time?

3. How much information do you want to collect? Set limits on how much data you will collect. Consider who will have to find this information and whether they have enough time and resources to complete the task.

Once you’ve defined your search, you may be able to obtain information and assistance from your local reference librarian, chambers of commerce, and non-profit agencies such as the United Way, Planned Parenthood and the United Healthcare Fund.

Health Data

DATA AND RESEARCH RESOURCES

Nassau County Health Department Reports and Resources