Research Tools

Organizations and agencies that collect and compile data for statistical analysis

Agency For Health Care Research and Quality
The Agency For Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) supports research designed to improve the outcomes and quality of health care, reduce its costs, address patient safety and medical errors, and broaden access to effective services. The research sponsored, conducted, and disseminated by AHRQ provides information that helps people make better decisions about health care.

The Alliance for Health Reform
The Alliance for Health Reform exists to provide an unbiased source of information about the roots of the nation's health care problems and the trade-offs posed by competing proposals for change. They offer a full array of resources and viewpoints, in a number of formats, to elected officials and their staffs, journalists, policy analysts and advocates.

California Budget Project
The California Budget Project (CBP) serves as a resource to the media, policymakers, and state and local constituency groups seeking accurate information and analysis of a range of state policy issues. Through independent fiscal and policy analysis, public education, and collaboration with other organizations, we work to improve public policies affecting the economic and social well-being of low- and middle-income Californians.

California Health Interview Survey
The Californai Health Interview Survey (CHIS) is the nation's largest state health survey. A random-dial telephone survey conducted every two years on a wide range of health topics, CHIS data gives a detailed picture of the health and health care needs of California's large and diverse population. CHIS is conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health, the Department of Health Care Services and the Public Health Institute.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities works on fiscal policy issues and issues affecting low- and moderate-income families and individuals. The Center specializes in research and analysis oriented toward policy decisions that policymakers face at both federal and state levels. The Center examines data and research findings and produces analyses designed to be accessible to public officials, other non-profit organizations, and the media.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recognized as the lead federal agency for protecting the health and safety of people - at home and abroad - providing credible information to enhance health decisions, and promoting health through strong partnerships. CDC serves as the national focus for developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.

Center for Health and Public Policy Studies
The Center for Health and Public Policy Studies conducts research and policy analysis on current issues in health policy and politics that affect California and the nation. The Center provides data and organizes convenings that support public policies to develop an affordable, high-quality health care system and to promote health and prevent disease. In this work, the Center collaborates with government, industry, academic, and public service institutions. CHPPS is part of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health.

Center for Health Improvement
The Center for Health Improvement (CHI) is a national, independent, nonprofit health policy and technical assistance organization dedicated to improving population health and encouraging healthy behaviors. Since its inception in 1995, CHI has used evidence-based research to help public, private, and nonprofit organizations strengthen their capacity to improve the quality and value of health care and enhance public health at the community level.

Center for Studying Health System Change
The Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) is a nonpartisan policy research organization located in Washington, D.C. HSC designs and conducts studies focused on the U.S. health care system to inform the thinking and decisions of policy makers in government and private industry. In addition to this applied use, HSC studies contribute more broadly to the body of health care policy research that enables decision makers to understand change and the national and local market forces driving that change.

Child Trends, Inc.
Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to studying children, youth, and families through research, data collection, and data analyses.

Harvard Opinion Research Program
The Harvard Opinion Research Program has played a key role in 100+ public opinion surveys on health and social policy in the US and 15 other countries The program is unique in its effort to assess people's attitudes in relationship to their values, knowledge, and experiences.

Health Policy Institute
The Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University is a multi-disciplinary group of faculty and staff dedicated to conducting research on key issues in health policy and health services research.

Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is an independent philanthropy focusing on the major health care issues facing the nation. The Foundation is an independent voice and source of facts and analysis for policymakers, the media, the health care community, and the general public.

Human Services Policy Center
The Human Services Policy Center, at the Evans School of Public Affairs - University of Washington, pairs applied analytic research with the promotion of policies that improve the lives of children, families, and communities, with special attention to the needs of those who are disadvantaged.

Institute for Health Policy Solutions
The Institute for Health Policy Solutions is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization funded to develop creative and workable solutions to health system problems related to access, cost, and quality. Many of IHPS' projects involve the design of health insurance strategies that both achieve public interest objectives and are viable in the market.

Institute for Health Policy Studies
The Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies was founded in 1972 as the Health Policy Program within the School of Medicine on the University of California, San Francisco campus. It is the first program to bring together on the campus of a major academic health sciences center a multidisciplinary group of faculty (medicine, law, ethics, and pharmacology) committed to developing an innovative unit with health policy as its focus.

Kidsdata.org
Kidsdata.org, a program of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, just expanded statewide, offering data for all counties, cities, and school districts in California -- nearly 1,600 regions. Data are available for dozens of topics measuring the health and well being of children.

Medi-Cal Policy Institute
The Medi-Cal Policy Institute, established in 1997 by the California HealthCare Foundation, is an independent source of information on the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs. The Institute seeks to facilitate and enhance the development of effective policy solutions guided by the interests of the programs' consumers.

National Academy for State Health Policy
The National Academy for State Health Policy is an independent academy of state health policymakers working together to identify emerging issues, develop policy solutions, and improve state health policy and practice. NASHP provides a forum for constructive, nonpartisan work across branches and agencies of state government on critical health issues facing states.

National Center for Children in Poverty
The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), founded in 1989 as a division of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, is the nation's leading public policy center dedicated to promoting the economic security, health, and well-being of America's low-income families and children. NCCP uses research to inform policy and practice with the goal of ensuring positive outcomes for the next generation. We promote family-oriented solutions at the state and national levels.

National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.

National Committee on Quality Assurance
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. Since its founding in 1990, NCQA has been a central figure in driving improvement throughout the health care system, helping to elevate the issue of health care quality to the top of the national agenda.

Policy Link
Policy Link, a national nonprofit research, communications, capacity building, and advocacy organization, is enlarging the sphere of influence that affects policy so that those closest to the nation's challenges are central to the search for their solutions.

UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research is one of the nation's leading health policy research centers and the premier source of health policy information for California. Established in 1994, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research is based in the School of Public Health and affiliated with the School of Public Affairs.

Urban Institute
The Urban Institute gathers data, conducts research, evaluates programs, offers technical assistance overseas, and educates Americans on social and economic issues - to foster sound public policy and effective government.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for the federal government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics.

U.S. Census Bureau
The Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy.

World Health Organization
The World Health Organiztion (WHO) is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.