Speciality databases offer an immense amount variety in terms of study population, answerable questions, and vary in complexity from quite approachable to very complex. We will break them down according to study population and provide details of each one to help you decide which is most appropriate for your research question.
Cancer Databases
National Cancer Database (NCDB)
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)
Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN | OSUCCC – James)
Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Databases
National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample (NIS)
Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID)
Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS)
Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD)
Surgery/Transplant Databases
Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP)
National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP)
Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS)
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)
Women’s Health Databases
Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS)
Women’s Health Initiative (WHI)
Other Databases
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
Federal Statistics Research Data Center (FSRDC)
Framingham Heart Study (FHS)
National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS)
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
The Tool Assisted Research Discovery Informatics Surveillance System (TARDISS)