Office of Health Statistics

The Office of Health Statistics (OHS) collects and analyzes health data on the Rhode Island population and uses the data to identify health problems among the state's population and subgroups. OHS also supports health programs in their health planning and evaluation efforts.  State-wide data systems provide a variety of health statistics, including health status, health care utilization, health insurance coverage, health risk behaviors, hospitalizations, natality (birth certificate), and mortality (death certificate).

Selected surveys from data sets include the following:

Hospital Discharge Data (HDD)
Data on inpatient discharges from licensed acute care hospitals in Rhode Island, including patient demographics, clinical items, and hospital charges. Can be used to measure health status and outcomes, health care utilization, and access to health care, and for other public health purposes. Public use data files are available.

Emergency Department (ED) and Observation (OBS) Data
Data on emergency department visits and observation stays from licensed acute care hospitals in Rhode Island, including patient demographics, clinical items and hospital charges. Can be used to measure health status and outcomes, ED utilization, access to health care, for injury surveillance and other public health purposes. Public use data files will be made available. Data collection began with discharges occurring on or after January 1, 2005.

Rhode Island Health Interview Survey (RI-HIS) measures a wide variety of health topics on adults and children, including health status, healthcare access and utilization, and healthcare coverage.

Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (BRFS) measures a number of health risk behaviors among adults 18 years and older, including smoking, exercise, diet, alcohol consumption, healthcare coverage, and health status.

Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is a survey of students in grades 9-12 and measures health risk behaviors that contribute to  injuries; tobacco, alcohol and other drug use; unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs); unhealthy dietary behaviors; and physical inactivity.

Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) is a survey of students in grades 6-8 and 9-12 that measures the use of a variety of tobacco products as well as exposure to tobacco smoke and knowledge and attitudes regarding tobacco use and advertising.

Adolescent Substance Abuse Survey (ASAS) is a survey of students in grades 7-12 and measures the level of substance use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, other licit and illicit substances, as well as other related information on perceptions of risk and approval toward the use of such substances.

CODES (Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System) 
A research effort that seeks to link records from motor vehicle crashes to Hospital discharge data in order to measure the morbidity, mortality and hospital costs that result from these crashes.