HD*Calc

News

The Health Disparities Calculator (HD*Calc) is statistical software designed to generate multiple summary measures to evaluate and monitor health disparities (HD). HD*Calc was created as an extension of SEER*Stat that allows the user to import SEER data or other population-based health data, such as National Health Survey sample data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) or the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), and calculate any of eleven disparity measures.

HD*Calc supports the use of a range of health disparities measures, allowing researchers to select and apply different measures to their data. HD*Calc was originally developed to expand the range of measures for evaluating health disparities related to cancer. However, since it can be used with any dataset, HD*Calc can be used in any research arena. Cross-sectional and trend data (e.g., cancer rates, survival, stage at diagnosis) categorized by disparity groups (e.g., area-socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, geographic areas) can be imported into HD*Calc to generate four absolute, seven relative summary measures of disparity, and two pair comparison measures. The results are displayed as tables and charts, which may be exported for use in other applications. Read more about Health Disparity Measures in HD*Calc.

Download HD*Calc Version 3.0.0

The readme.txt (TXT, 5 KB) distributed with the software includes a description of the revisions made for this release.

Installation

Some users receive a Windows warning that they do not have authorization to run the installation program. If that happens, save the installation file to your computer. Right-click the file and select "Run as administrator"to begin the installation process.

Training and Help

In addition to the HD*Calc Webinars, a range of tutorials and technical support resources are available and will introduce you to the rationale behind the tool and help you get started.

For More Information

We would appreciate any feedback to help us improve the software for future releases. Please send any comments or questions requiring technical support to hdcalculator@imsweb.com.

Publications

Several publications discuss HD*Calc or analyze data using the HD*Calc software.

Suggested Citation

Health Disparities Calculator, Version 3.0.0 – June 5, 2024; Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Surveillance Research Program and Healthcare Delivery Research Program, National Cancer Institute.

Download the fact sheet, Health Disparities Calculator (PDF).

Promoting HD*Calc

If you would like to promote/link to HD*Calc on your site, we encourage you to please use the following image and link to https://seer.cancer.gov/hdcalc/.