The Philadelphia Health Management Corporation (PHMC) compiles local, population-based data for use in health planning, policy and program development by local health and social service organizations, for use in research, and for the education of health practitioners. Basic information and popular tables are available via the Web. The full datasets are available to Jeffersonians for use with either SAS or SPSS to answer custom queries (these statistical packages are available in AISR's Learning Resources Centers).

The CHDB is built around the Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey, which is administered every two years. U.S. Census and vital statistics data are also included. Jefferson now subscribes to the data in two formats:

1. The full current dataset (2004) and forthcoming biennial sets, loaded on local servers for SAS/SPSS manipulation; and
2. Web-based access to PHMC's site for basic tables from 2000 forward.

This source of local information is particularly strong because it contains:

• data that can be examined by different levels of geography, including census tract, health district, Minor Civil Division, and ZIP code, as well as by county and region;
• longitudinal data that can be used as a baseline to measure changes in health, social status and access to care over time; and
• data that are community-based, rather than resource-based.

Data are available now (Jefferson Campus Key required). The Philadelphia Health Management Corporations will be conducting a "train the trainers" session this fall, after which AISR will include CHDB training in its regular workshop series, faculty development curriculum, and course-integrated instruction where appropriate.

For further information about the Community Health Data Base, please contact: