Resource Guide to AHRQ Child and Youth Health and Health Care Services Data

This report provides summary information and guidance on accessing and using the child health data sets and measurement tools available through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Available in print or as a CD-ROM, the Guide was developed for AHRQ by the Oregon Health & Science University, Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative.

Background

AHRQ makes data available through the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) and sponsors the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) surveys at the CAHPS Benchmarking Database.  To some extent, these data sets and tools have been used to document the health and health care of children and to guide national and State-level health policy to improve services for children. Further applications to build knowledge regarding the health status and health care of children and youth are both needed and possible using the child-focused components of these data sets.

Key Messages

The guide describes the following sources of health and health services data on children and adolescents:

• Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
• Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project.
  • Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS).
  • Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID).
  • State Inpatient Databases (SID).
• Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems.

For each data set, the resource guide presents a summary of the data set, overview of methods, child sample sizes and years for which data are available, answers to frequently asked questions, a summary of available data elements, and additional guidance for accessing and using the data.

Ordering Information

The resource guide is available either as a print document or on CD-ROM. It can be ordered from the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse by calling 800-358-9295 or sending an E-mail to ahrqpubs@ahrq.hhs.gov. Ask for AHRQ Publication No. 07(08)-0088 (print copy) or AHRQ Publication No. 07(08)-0088-1 (CD-ROM).