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Updated Health Data Sets on State Health Compare: Explore Health Statistics and Health Data Visualizations

SHADAC’s State Health Compare is an online data visualization tool that allows users to explore and download health data sets and statistics. These data are broken down into measures that range from ‘Insurance Coverage Type’ to ‘Suicide Deaths’; measures are divided into overall categories like “… Read More

Barrera

Jeffrey Barrera joined SHADAC in 2024 as a Master of Public Health student in the Public Health Administration & Policy Program. He is interested in health care quality improvement measures, health equity research, and policy analysis. Before starting his master's degree, Jeffrey earned a B.S.… Read More

Ngoboka

Jessica joined SHADAC in 2024 as a Research Dissemination Coordinator. She is responsible for formatting and visualization of SHADAC products, tracking products and media, and providing coordination, communications, and research publication support.Prior to joining SHADAC, Jessica graduated from… Read More

Ehrlich

Hannah Ehrlich joined SHADAC in August 2024. She is a second-year JD-MPH student at the University of Minnesota Law School and School of Public Health with a focus on public health administration and policy. Hannah earned a B.S. in biology from Brandeis University. Her interests include equitable… Read More

Survey Data Season 2024

Beginning in June and going through September, data from many major federal surveys – including the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Systems (BRFSS), the Current… Read More

Adult Excessive Alcohol Consumption Rate Trends in the United States

From pre-pandemic to during the pandemic, heavy alcohol use among Americans rose nearly 20%. This increase in drinking was sustained through 2022. Excessive alcohol consumption has been linked to adverse health outcomes, such as increased risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and mental… Read More

During the Pandemic, Drug Overdoses Became the Third Leading Cause of Death for U.S. Adolescents

AuthorsColin Planalp, MPA, Senior Research Fellow at SHADACTyler Winkelman, MD, MSc Co-Director, Health, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice Lab at Hennepin Healthcare Research InstituteFatal overdoses involving fentanyl grew nearly 300% among adolescentsFor roughly a quarter-century, U.S. drug… Read More

Exploring Racial Disparities in Forgone Health Care Using State Health Compare

“Forgone care” describes when someone does not use or access health care despite a need for it. While there are a number of reasons why someone might choose to forgo care (e.g., fear of medical procedures or diagnosis, lack of health literacy and/or understanding, limited access to care, cultural… Read More

Food Insecurity in America: New Social Determinants State Health Compare Measure Tracks Percent of Households Experiencing Food Insecurity

Social determinants of health are social factors that impact an individual or community’s health. As explained by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “Good health begins where we live, learn, work and play. Stable housing, quality schools, access to good jobs, and neighborhood safety are all… Read More

Sobering Statistics: Acceleration of Alcohol-Attributable Deaths Across the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Image Alcohol has long been one of the few legal mind-altering substances in the United States. While legal, messaging around its use – and misuse – has often been mixed. Moderate levels of drinking, such as a glass of wine or beer with dinner, were… Read More

Underlying Factors of Medicaid Inequities: Conversations with Experts on Racism and Medicaid

  Image Medicaid serves as a vital public health safety net for over 79 million people, including many from historically excluded or marginalized communities. There is a great opportunity to improve Medicaid programs’ accountability for… Read More

Seven Measures Have Been Retired from State Health Compare

To maintain State Health Compare (SHC) as a relevant and current resource for data users, SHADAC regularly evaluates our collection of SHC measures to ensure they inform current health care and health policy discussions. We also want to be able to update measures consistently with recent data.As a… Read More

Children's Uninsurance by Race and Ethnicity Using American Community Survey (ACS) Data

*/ The table below provides data for children's uninsurance by race and ethnicity from 2017 through 2022. This data was obtained from SHADAC analysis of American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files.Children's Uninsurance by Race and Ethnicity, 2017 - 2022Race/… Read More

Race/Ethnicity Data in CMS Medicaid (T-MSIS) Analytic Files: 2022 Data Assessment

The Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) is the largest national database of current Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiary information collected from U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia (DC).1 T-MSIS data are… Read More

SHADAC Leadership Transition Announcement

After more than 25 years of work and dedication to health policy research and to the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) Founding Director & Principal Investigator Dr. Lynn Blewett has announced her decision to begin a… Read More

PRESENTATION: Trends and Patterns in Fatal Drug Overdoses Since the COVID-19 Pandemic

SHADAC Senior Research Fellow Colin Planalp presented at the APHA Annual Meeting in October 2024. In this presentation, Mr. Planalp reviews trends and patterns in fatal drug overdoses since the COVID-19 pandemic, including the increase in fentanyl related overdose deaths, which significantly… Read More

2024 NHIS Data Early Release: Q2 (April – June) Estimates Show Uninsurance Remained Stable While Many Shifted from Public to Private Coverage

On November 8, 2024, The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released quarterly estimates of health insurance coverage from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) covering the second quarter (April – June) of 2024.This blog post covers this newly released Q2 NHIS data, including… Read More

“American Indian 101”: Understanding the history and contemporary experiences of Native people in a United States health policy context

Image American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) is a racial/ethnic category that describes people with ancestry indigenous to North America prior to colonization in 1492. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, there were approximately 9.7 million Americans… Read More

What Do the New Census Data Say About Insurance Coverage for Children and Adults? A Look at Both the National and State Level (SHVS Cross-Post)

The following Expert Perspective (EP) is cross-posted from State Health & Value Strategies.Authors: Elizabeth Lukanen, Elliot Walsh, Robert Hest, SHADACOriginal posting date October 30, 2024. Find the original post here on the SHVS website.Background on Census DataEvery fall,… Read More

What Are Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)? ACEs Definition, Data Challenges, and Resources

Basics Blog IntroductionSHADAC has created a series of “Basics Blogs” to familiarize readers with common terms, concepts, and topics that are frequently covered. Children’s health is impacted by a number of factors – family life and income, housing, neighborhood, nutrition, health care access… Read More