Reliable Data

America’s Health Rankings is a longstanding platform that builds on the United Health Foundation’s work to help draw attention to the cornerstones of public health and better understand the health of various populations. The platform is a demonstration of the United Health Foundation’s mission of helping build healthier communities, and reflects UnitedHealth Group’s commitment to help people live healthier lives.

As the longest-running state-by-state analysis of our nation’s health, the platform provides actionable, data-driven insights that stakeholders can use to effect change either in a state or nationally. The United Health Foundation provides the platform to help policymakers, community leaders and health officials better understand the specific health concerns in their own communities so we can all work together to address health challenges.

America’s Health Rankings evaluates a historical and comprehensive set of health outcomes, social & economic factors, clinical care, behaviors and physical environmental data to determine national health benchmarks and state rankings.

The model was developed under the guidance of our Advisory Council and Committees, with insights from published literature and other published models of health, such as County Health Rankings & Roadmaps and Healthy People. It serves as a framework for identifying and quantifying health drivers and outcomes that affect state and national population health.

The model contains topics within categories. For example, economic resources and social support and engagement are two topics within the social and economic factors category. Category topics were created to group related measures and therefore spark additional insights, dialogue and action. It reflects the need for collaboration and action by stakeholders across sectors such as education, environment, housing and transit to reduce inequities and improve health outcomes.

America’s Health Rankings analyzes over 280 unique measures from more than 80 publicly available data sources to assess the nation’s health and well-being on a wide range of demographics including race and ethnicity, gender, age, education, income, disability status, sexual orientation, veteran status and metropolitan status. Below are a few of the sources most important to our work:

• American Community Survey (ACS) is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau; it provides information yearly about population demographics and housing.
• The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data are analyzed using STATA to account for the complex survey design.
• National Immunization Surveys are sponsored and conducted by the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. They monitor vaccination coverage among children in multiple age categories.
• The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), funded and directed by the Health Resources & Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, provides data on children’s health and access to health care.
• The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) measures the use of illegal drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco, mental disorders, treatment and co-occurring substance use and mental disorders.
• The CDC WONDER Online Database provides birth and death data. Overall mortality rates include all causes of death. For other measures, codes from the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision (ICD-10) are used.
• The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) is a joint research project by the CDC and state health departments to examine the health of mothers and infants.

Each report is guided by an Advisory Committee that convenes annually to maintain currency in the field and to incorporate new or improved measures and methodologies. Advisory Committee members include representatives from state health departments and members of trade and advocacy organizations, as well as experts from a variety of academic disciplines.

In addition to the report committees, an Advisory Council convenes annually to advise on the role of the America’s Health Rankings platform as a source of information to promote discussions of current and emerging public health issues and to provide continuity across reports.

We release three state health ranking reports annually. Each provides a comprehensive look at the health of the population across the nation and on a state-by-state basis:

• The Annual Report is the longest-running annual assessment of the nation’s health on a state-by-state basis. For more than 30 years, America’s Health Rankings has analyzed a comprehensive set of data to provide a holistic view of the nation’s health.
• The Senior Report, first published in 2013, analyzes more than 10 years of data to present a comparative look at the health of older adults.
• The Health of Women and Children Report, first published in 2016, focuses on women of reproductive age (18-44) and children. It emphasizes the population groups where health improvements can make generational differences.

America’s Health Rankings also prepares a national report on active duty and veteran U.S. service members. The Health of Those Who Have Served Report, first released in November 2016, explores the differences in health and health-related measures between those now serving or who have served in the military and the civilian population.

All four reports allow users to look at disparities in health by race and ethnicity, gender, age, education and income for many measures.

In 2021, America’s Health Rankings released the inaugural Health Disparities Report. It provides a comprehensive portrait of the breadth, depth and persistence of health disparities across the nation. Building on more than 30 years of data and reporting, this report provides objective data documenting the constant and changing contours of disparities for the nation, all 50 states and the District of Columbia by gender, geography, educational attainment and race and ethnicity.

Healthy People 2030 Champions are public and private organizations working to help achieve Healthy People objectives and support the Healthy People 2030 vision: A society in which all people can achieve their full potential for health and well-being across the lifespan. The United Health Foundation is proud to support the program as a Healthy People 2030 Champion. To learn more about the program, visit the Healthy People 2030 website. To read more about how America’s Health Rankings and the United Health Foundation are advancing Healthy People 2030 priorities, visit our blog: United Health Foundation Recognized as Healthy People 2030 Champion.