Health Resources 
District of Columbia Resources & Data
Health Center
The D.C. Health Center is the District of Columbia's online gateway connecting you to a wide variety of health care services, publications, and other information that you need to maintain and enhance your health and well-being.
District Releases First Ever Preventable Causes of Death Report ...
As part of the District of Columbia Department of Health’s (DOH) ongoing efforts to improve the health and quality of life of District residents, DOH released the first report that outlines the top preventable causes of death for the District.
Preventable Risk Factors Attributed to Preventable Causes of Death in the District of Columbia, 2007 uses formulas, previously applied only to national and state data, to local health data for District residents. The District is the first city and third state level jurisdiction to put together a preventable cause of death report based on residential data. The preventable causes of death outlined in The Report made up 49.5% of all deaths in the District in 2007.
Rand Reports
Assessing Health and Health Care in the District of Columbia:
Full Document (4.2 MB, PDF) | Summary Only (0.2 MB, PDF)
This document describes interim findings from a study of health and the health care service delivery system in the District of Columbia. The goals of the study are to: (1) conduct a comprehensive health needs assessment for Washington DC; (2) assess the quality and accessibility of the District's health care delivery system for individuals with urgent or emergent medical needs; and (3) use information from those assessments to identify and assess various policy options for improving the health care delivery system. This document summarizes findings related to the first two goals. A final report will include findings relevant to goal (3).
Assessing Health and Health Care in the District of Columbia | Phase Report 2
Full Document (2.7 MB, PDF) | Summary Only (0.1 MB, PDF)
Specifically, this document recommends how $135 million in funding from the tobacco settlement should be spent to strengthen the District's health care system. An interim report, RAND Working Paper 534, summarizes findings related to the first two goals. This document primarily addresses the third goal.
2009 Community Health Status Indicators for Metropolitan Washington
General Health Information
HealthFinder from the US Department of Health and Human Services, HHS.
MEDLINEplus from the National Library of Medicine, NLM.
NIHSeniorHealth: This easy-to-use website features health and wellness information for older adults from the National Institutes of Health
Your Disease Risk
Your Disease Risk is an interactive risk assessment and prevention tool developed by world renown scientists for five of the most important diseases in the United States, such as, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and osteoporosis.
Your Disease Risk collects the latest scientific evidence on disease risk factors into one easy-to-use tool. Here, you can find out your risk of developing five of the most important diseases in the United States and get personalized tips for preventing them.
Health Disparities
Health Disparities - National Partnership for Action
National Healthcare Disparities Report, 2008 (385 KB, PDF )
Disparities in Health Care Quality Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups (385 KB, PDF)
Findings From the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports, 2008
Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care (March 2002): A report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academics
Health Literacy
Health Literacy from National Network of Libraries of Medicine
New Evidence Report Illustrates Links Between Health Literacy and Health Care Use and Outcomes (April 2004):
A Report from the agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Health Literacy, A Prescription to End Confusion (April 2004): A Report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academics
Health Literacy Component of the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (96 KB, PDF) A report from the National Center for Education Statistics
