Sheet 1: Overview

	
	

		
Scan Overview:
	
	

		
AHRQ conducted an environmental scan of social determinants of health (SDOH) data sources to inform the development of AHRQ’s SDOH beta data files publicly released in December 2020. AHRQ is publicly releasing the environmental scan as a resource for analysts interested in identifying SDOH-related data sources. The scan aims to identify as many SDOH data sources as possible as of July 2020 at the ZIP Code, county, and State level for the domains of social context, economic context, education, physical infrastructure, and healthcare context. The scan is organized in an Excel spreadsheet to maintain the filter functionality of each column in the scan so that analysts can sort by variables such as SDOH domain or level of geography. 

Data sources were identified by subject matter experts and via a comprehensive internet search to add data sources to these recommendations. Examples of search terms used included “SDOH data sources,” “social determinants of health database,” “social determinants of health data sources,” “healthcare data source,” “economic data,” “social data source,” “education data source,” “physical infrastructure data source,” “pollution data,” “crime data,” “workforce/employment data,” “housing and living condition data,” “data on healthcare systems,” and “food access/food insecurity data sources.”
	
	

		
The SDOH environmental scan content was last updated in July 2020.
	



Sheet 2: Key

	
	
	
	
	

		
Scan Key
		


		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Column Heading
		
Description
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Source Organization/Agency
		
Organization or agency that published or posted the data.
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Data Source Name
		
Name of the data source or database.
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Link to Data Download
		
URL where the data are available for download or URL for the data source home page.
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Level of Data—ZIP Code (Y/N), County (Y/N), State (Y/N)
		
This is broken into three columns in the scan and denotes the level at which the data are available and to which data are already aggregated.
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Other Available Data Levels
		
Notes on additional levels at which the data may be available and to which it may already be aggregated (e.g., facility level).
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Years Covered
		
The years the data spans or the data year availability.
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Notes on Sources
		
Includes notes on the sources the data file pulls from (available if “Compilation of Multiple Sources” is marked “Y”).
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Interactive Tools/Data Visualization (Y/N)
		
Marked “Y” if the data source website includes an interactive tool or data visualization, “N” if it does not.
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Social Context (Y/N)
		
Marked “Y” if the data sources include variables that fall into the Social Context SDOH domain, “N” if not. Examples of topics: age, race/ethnicity, sex.
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Economic Context (Y/N)
		
Marked “Y” if the data sources include variables that fall into the Economic Context SDOH domain, “N” if not. Examples of topics: employment, income, poverty.
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Education (Y/N)
		
Marked “Y” if the data sources include variables that fall into the Education SDOH domain, “N” if not. Examples of topics: educational attainment.
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Physical Infrastructure (Y/N)
		
Marked “Y” if the data sources include variables that fall into the Physical Infrastructure SDOH domain, “N” if not. Examples of topics: housing, transportation, environmental conditions. 
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Healthcare Context (Y/N)
		
Marked “Y” if the data sources include variables that fall into the Healthcare Context SDOH domain, “N” if not. Examples of topics: health insurance status, healthcare providers, health conditions.
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Comments
		
Includes any additional information or notes on the data sources that may have been relevant to the research team. 
		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Note: Asterisks (*) in the scan are used to denote a corresponding comment in column Q.