Welcome to the NCHS monthly newsletter for key collaborators and partners. This newsletter provides updates on NCHS activities, publications, and media reports. Please send all questions and feedback to Hallie Andrews (HAndrews@cdc.gov) and share this information with your network. Email info@friendsofnchs.org to become a new member of the Friends of NCHS community.
NCHS/AcademyHeath Data Visualization Challenge Winners Announced!
In 2021, NCHS and AcademyHealth forged an innovative partnership to promote the use of NCHS data systems. Together, they challenged graduate students to create an interactive data visualization that used two or more specified tables from Health, United States to examine health data trends. The goal was to identify and explain an important public health trend or disparity, and to tell a compelling and policy-relevant story to a wide audience.
First place winners from Johns Hopkins University produced the visualization titled, “Sound the Alarm: Data Show Large Inequities in Rates of Gun Deaths Among Young People.” The group’s visualization demonstrates that young people (ages 15-24) are at high risk for intentional injury.
Second place winners from the University of Wisconsin-Madison produced the visualization titled, “Investigating Temporal Trends in Preventable Death: Suicide and Drug Overdose.” The group’s visualization highlights aspects of the relationship between suicide and drug overdoses.
Learn more about the program here.
Article from the ASA:
State of the Nation’s Health Data Infrastructure
The American Statistical Association (ASA) recently spoke with experts about the advances NCHS made two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and opportunities for supporting NCHS’s work in the years to come. The conversation was part of the ASA series “State of the Data Infrastructure.” Interviewers spoke with Jennifer Madans, retired NCHS Associate Director for Science; Ninez Ponce, professor of health policy and management at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health and past member of the NCHS Board of Scientific Counselors; and Charlie Rothwell, retired director of NCHS.
Read the article “State of the Nation’s Health Data Infrastructure: Experts Weigh in Two Years into Pandemic” and find other articles from the series here.
Recent and Upcoming Publications
Released in March 2022:
| Publications | |
| Title | Select Findings |
| Changes in Births by Month: United States, January 2019–June 2021 | The largest declines in the number of births by month for the first 6 months of 2021 were observed in January. |
| Suicide Mortality in the United States, 2000—2020 | After increasing from 2000 through 2018, the age-adjusted suicide rate declined from 2018 to 2020. |
| Emergency Department Visit Rates by Selected Characteristics: United States, 2019 | Across all primary expected sources of payment, the emergency department visit rate for patients with private insurance was lowest. The rate for patients with Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program/State Children’s Health Insurance Program was highest. |
| United States Life Tables, 2019 | Between 2018 and 2019, life expectancy at birth increased by 0.1 year for males (76.2 to 76.3) and by 0.2 year for females (81.2 to 81.4). This report provides estimates for the American Indian, Alaska Native, and Asian populations for the first time. |
Upcoming Releases in April 2022:
| Release Date | Title |
| 4/20/2022 | Dental Care Utilization Among Adults Aged 18-64 Years: United States, 2019 and 2020 |
| 4/26/2022 | Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Quarterly Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, October 2020 – December 2021 |
| 4/26/2022 | Interactive Quarterly Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January 2019 – December 2021 |
| 4/26/2022 | Interactive Biannual Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January 2019 – December 2021 |
| 4/26/2022 | Early Release of Selected Estimates Based on Data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey |
NCHS in the News
Los Angeles Times — Pregnancy-related deaths climbed in pandemic’s first year
ABC News — Births decreased in first half of 2021, likely linked to pandemic: CDC
Politico — State Department will offer ‘X’ gender marker for U.S. passports
Opportunity to Propose New NHANES Survey Content
NCHS invites you to propose content for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Federal and non-federal partners can submit potential survey content for the 2024 survey. Details and instructions are available on the NHANES website.
Partnerships with new and established collaborators are essential to ensure that NHANES meets its mission to capture an accurate portrait of our nation’s dynamic health. Through the content proposal process, new and existing partners can be a part of the renewed NHANES vision.
Proposed content should address topics of public health significance. Proposals should focus on data collection that is best suited for a national health survey that incorporates interviewing, examination, and biospecimen collection. Emerging public health topics are welcome as are assessments using innovative technologies. Other content considerations are specified at the weblink above.
An Update on Children’s Mental Health Surveillance
CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report recently published Mental Health Surveillance Among Children — United States, 2013–2019. This new report found that poor mental health among children was a substantial public health concern even before the pandemic. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety among children of all ages, and symptoms related to depression among adolescents, are the most common concerns. The report also aimed to summarize positive indicators of children’s mental health.
The report relied on data from nine different sources to describe mental health and mental disorders in children during 2013–2019. It includes data from three NCHS sources: the National Health Interview Survey, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and the National Vital Statistics System.
The report is a collaboration between CDC staff and other federal agencies including the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the National Institute of Mental Health. This 2022 report is an update to the first ever cross-agency children’s mental health surveillance report that was published in 2013 (found here).
You can read the full report here and a summary here.
Healthy People 2030 Webinar Series
NCHS is excited to join HHS’s Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) in hosting a webinar series on Healthy People 2030. Throughout the decade, these webinars will feature the leading health indicators, overall health and well-being measures, and Healthy People 2030 objectives, as well as the latest data released for Healthy People 2030.
The first webinar in the series, Bridging Healthy People 2020 and Healthy People 2030, took place on March 31st and will be available online soon. It focused on Healthy People 2020 achievements and the transition to Healthy People 2030.
Presenters included:
- RADM Paul Reed, MD (Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health; Director, ODPHP)
- Carter Blakey (Deputy Director, ODPHP)
- Brian Moyer, PhD (Director, NCHS); and
- Irma Arispe, PhD (Director, Division of Analysis and Epidemiology, NCHS)
Check back on the ODPHP website here for more information on the webinar series and updates on Healthy People 2030.