Frequently Asked Questions

The Missouri Health Data Tool is a reporting and mapping platform designed to help users find community and state data quickly and easily. The Missouri Health Data Tool houses the 2022 Missouri County Level Study (CLS), which provides county, regional and state data on health conditions and behaviors among the Missourians. In the Map Room, visitors can create custom maps for their community with data from the County Level Study, as well as data from over 120 national secondary sources.

Follow the link to open the report quick start guide in a new tab.

Follow the link to open the map room quick start guide in a new tab.

Anyone can use the Missouri Health Data tools. No account or registration is required.

Report data are from the 2022 Missouri County Level Study. The CLS is a survey of about 50,000 Missourians, conducted by The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services with support from the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) Health and Behavioral Risk Research Center. The 2022 CLS produced prevalence estimates for all 114 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis. County Level Study data are available for download. Download the data package to access the analytic data file package with data for counties, select cities, regions, and the state of Missouri. For more information, please see the 2022 Missouri County-level Study Overview.

In the County Level Study, crude rates show the estimated percentage and number of people within a population living with a condition without considering the age of the population. Age-adjusted rates account for differences in the age distribution of a population. Since some conditions or diseases occur more frequently in older individuals, it may be better to use age-adjusted data when comparing groups or areas with different age distributions. Age-adjusted data are not available for population subgroups.

State Comparison is used to report the significance in the difference between county (or region) estimates when compared to the state averages. Significance is determined using statistical methods which consider the number of respondents to the survey, the magnitude of the estimated difference, and the degree of confidence – which in this case is set at 95%. If the statistical test finds that the estimate is significantly different, the State Comparison field will indicate "higher" or "lower" based on the direction of the difference. If no significant difference is found, the field will indicate "not significant".

Map Room data are provided by the Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES) from over 120 national secondary sources and a variety of state-based sources. All map layers include release date information for easy reference and link back to the original data source.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reviews and responds to email inquiries from the public. Technical support is provided by the Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES). Please send your question or request to our team by emailing cares@missouri.edu or emailing info@health.mo.gov.