Minority Health Data

Overview

Public health and medical experts agree that better data and better data collection are essential if we are to fully understand, and eliminate, health disparities.

Complete, accurate and consistent data can help us better identify and serve at-risk populations. Data can show how disease prevalence, quality of treatment, and health outcomes differ from one community to another. And data can be used to monitor the effectiveness of health programs as well as track progress in eliminating disparities.

The Department of Health and Senior Services is actively engaged in standardizing race and ethnicity data collection across all of its programs and divisions.

The Department is also working with hospitals to develop better data on race, ethnicity and primary language on the four million patient visits to New Jersey hospitals each year.

DHSS Initiatives

Hospital Data –- New Jersey hospitals collect and report discharge data on every inpatient and some outpatients. The New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) and the Department have collaborated to revise procedures to yield consistent reporting of patient race and ethnicity across hospitals. Soon, hospitals will also begin collecting data on a patient’s primary language, using standardized reporting codes. The NJHA will train hospital staff on the new procedures.

DHSS Data Standardization –- The Department has surveyed all of its programs to determine what racial and ethnic data is collected and how it’s collected and reported. DHSS is finalizing a department-wide policy on race, ethnic and language data.

Coding Guidelines

Summary of Key Health Disparities

The Strategic Plan to Eliminate Health Disparities in New Jersey outlines disparities in screening, incidence, hospitalization, and death rates for health issues that place a greater burden on racial and ethnic communities.

Disparities Chart -- Priority Medical Areas
Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in New Jersey , December 2007 [pdf 126kb]

Data by Health Condition

Health Data Fact Sheets from the department’s Center for Health Statistics provide information on diseases and health issues that disproportionately impact minorities.

Asthma

Cancer
  Breast
  Cervical
  Colorectal
  Prostate

Diabetes

Heart Health
  Stroke
  Hypertension

HIV/AIDS

Infant Mortality
  SIDS-Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
  Breastfeeding

Obesity in New Jersey

Unintentional Injuries

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