The Urban Health Collaborative Research and Data Core supports work that characterizes health in cities and conducts research on health determinants and the impact of policies. As part of its activities, the Core compiles data on health determinants and outcomes for the Philadelphia region. The Core is actively working to expand and update available data, in the region and beyond.

What data are available?

The UHC Research and Data Core may have the data you need, whether you're looking for data to support projects, pilot analyses or grant writing, or in-depth studies. Our Summary of Data document has detailed descriptions on available data.

Download the Summary of Data document [PDF]

Geographic extent and level of aggregation

Most of the data are available for Philadelphia and surrounding counties and measures have been aggregated to census tract. Data is often available for multiple years.

Population characteristics and area-level exposures

U.S. Census small area data have been compiled for decennial Censuses 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 and the American Community Survey 5-year moving averages representing years 2005-2016.

Population, socioeconomic, built environment, and natural environment measures from a wide range of sources are available including:

• Population characteristics
• Race/ethnic composition and segregation
• Income, educational attainment, and other socioeconomic indicators
• Social capital
• Safety and crime
• Street network, traffic, and public transportation
• Alcohol outlets, and tobacco retailers
• Air pollution
• Parks and green space
• Food stores and other business establishments
• And much more!

Health outcome data

Through an agreement with the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health has access to the biannual Southeast Pennsylvania Household Health Survey for years 2000 through 2018. Data have been compiled on vital records, inpatient and outpatient/ambulatory care discharge data for Pennsylvania.

Access the UHC Data Portal

Selected data from the UHC Data Repository can now be accessed via the online UHC Data Portal. Currently, this tool is available to UHC faculty and staff as well as students who either have UHC affiliations or work with UHC faculty on an APE, ILE, or other data analysis project.

Data are currently available in the following categories:

• Demographics
• Health Outcomes
• Environmental Hazards
• Social Environment
• Built Environment
• Natural Environment 
• Spatial Boundaries

Updates on newly added categories and data sets can be found on our UHC Data Portal News page or in the UHC monthly newsletter. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact us at UHCData@drexel.edu.

How to request data

UHC faculty, staff, and students can obtain data directly from the UHC Data Portal. If data you need is not available on the UHC Data Portal, please contact UHCData@drexel.edu with a summary of the data you need.

Non-UHC Drexel faculty, research staff, post-doctoral fellows, and students can request data from the UHC by submitting a proposal that briefly describes the project to UHCData@drexel.edu. The proposal should be between two and three pages and should include the following information:

1. Working Title
2. Project lead and list of collaborators (Please note that if the lead is a student, a faculty mentor should be part of the project team and a letter of support from the faculty mentor should be included, and date that the student anticipates graduating.
3. Contact information for the project lead (email address and/or phone number).
4. Background/rationale (1-2 paragraphs).
5. Research Aims (objective) and Hypotheses (if appropriate).
6. Summary of data needed including brief description. For example: dependent and independent variables, covariates, spatial data, etc., as appropriate to the research question. Please include the preferred spatial coverage and data year(s). See UHC Data Summary for information on data available.
7. Brief analytical plan
8. Timeline
9. Proposals should also indicate whether GIS or data management/data analysis assistance from the UHC will be needed. Please specify the tasks that will be required by UHC staff (e.g. creation of spatial variables, statistical analysis).

The data information request sheet outlines the review process and next steps after your proposal is approved.

Download the data request information sheet [PDF]

If you have any questions on the available data and would like to discuss your needs, please contact the Urban Heath Collaborative at uhc@drexel.edu.

Project Proposal Template [DOC]

Example Project Proposal [PDF]