Are PRAMS data available to researchers?

Yes. Researchers may request data for studies that involve multiple jurisdictions by submitting a proposal to CDC. The submission process is outlined below.

Proposal submissions must include

1. PRAMS Application Form [PDF – 332 KB]
2. Project Abstract of 350 words or less.
3. Signed Data Sharing Agreement [PDF – 34KB] (including signatures of all authors).

• Proposal reviews are conducted once a month, on the 1^st of the month.  Proposals received after the 1^st will be reviewed on the first day of the following month.
• Submission should be a single pdf document including: the application form, abstract, and data sharing agreement.  Incomplete submissions will be returned without review.
• Submissions should be sent to PRAMSProposals@cdc.gov. File name should be the Principal Researcher’s last name (i.e. Smith_proposal).
• Researchers will receive an e-mail regarding the approval/disapproval status of their proposal 2-3 weeks after the 1^st of the month.  Approved proposals will be forwarded to the PRAMS sites for review.
• Datasets for approved proposals are sent out approximately 6 weeks after the date of initial review.

The PRAMS Analytic Research File contains a standard set of variables. There are five categories of the variables provided:

1. Birth Certificate Variables: Selected variables from the birth certificate file are included in the data set; information on maternal and infant demographics are primarily from this source.
2. Operational Variables: These variables come from the data collection process (e.g., mode the questionnaire was answered by mail or phone).
3. Weighting Variables: These variables account for the PRAMS survey design and the statistical weighting of the data. These variables are needed to analyze PRAMS data using complex sample software.
4. Questionnaire Variables: This is the information collected from the PRAMS survey.
5. Analytic Variables: These are precalculated variables that combine different variables in the data set, often those that are restricted (e.g., body mass index [BMI] created by combining variables on maternal weight and height).

Birth Certificate/Operational/Weighting Variable Codebook

• PRAMS Research Dataset Codebook [PDF – 326 KB]

PRAMS Core Questionnaire Codebooks

• Phase 6 Core Questionnaire Codebook | Download [DOC – 626 KB]
• Phase 7 Core Questionnaire Codebook | Download [DOC – 3 MB]
• Phase 8 Core Questionnaire Codebook | Download [DOC – 4 MB]

The PRAMS questionnaire is revised periodically. With each revision or new phase of the questionnaire, some of the questions change. Although most indicators can be compared across phases, it is often easiest to analyze data within a single phase. The years of available data covered by the different phases are listed below:

Phase 8 (2016-2021)
Phase 7 (2012–2015)
Phase 6 (2009–2011)
Phase 5 (2004–2008)
Phase 4 (2000–2003)
Phase 3 (1996–1999)
Phase 2 (1990–1995)
Phase 1 (1988–1989) Pilot Phase

The PRAMS questionnaire has three parts: a core that all sites use; a bank of standardized optional questions that sites may select from; and site-developed questions that are usually used only by the site that developed them.

The following documents may be useful:

• Question Lists by Phase (Phase 8 Core Questions, Phase 8 Standard Questions, etc.).
• Topic Reference Document by Phase (Lists all questions by topic and indicates which sites used standard and site- specific questions on these topics).

PRAMS currently has a minimum overall response rate threshold policy for the release of data for each year. This threshold has changed over the years as follows:

• 2006 and earlier: 70%
• 2007-2011: 65%
• 2012-2014: 60%
• 2015-2017: 55%
• 2018-2021: 50%

For any given year, the majority of, but not all sites meet the threshold. For this reason, the number of sites with data available may vary from year to year. By requesting “All sites with data available” on the application form, CDC will include the appropriate data from sites that met the response rate threshold for the year, in approved data sets. For more information, see Data Availability by Site and Year [XLS – 29 KB] (standard version) :

Data Availability by Site and Year [XLS – 29 KB] (508-compliant version, accessible to people with disabilities)

• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013
• 2012

Researchers should carefully review the terms of the data sharing agreement before submitting abstracts or manuscripts using PRAMS data for publication. In particular, please note

• Abstracts and manuscripts must be sent to CDC for distribution to PRAMS sites for review at least 4 weeks prior to submission to conferences or journals.
• Publications using PRAMS data should include an acknowledgement of the PRAMS Working Group.

For more information about the request/proposal process, please send an inquiry to PRAMSProposals@cdc.gov.

See listing of PRAMS Working Group