To build upon the research that has already been conducted, the Public Health Foundation has been awarded a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to utilize TRAIN, the nation’s premier learning management network designed specifically for professionals who protect and improve the public’s health, to perform tasks aimed at advancing the field of Public Health Services and Systems Research (PHSSR).  As part of this project three tailored datasets were extrapolated from TRAIN consisting of the data that can be used for addressing specific research questions.​  The TRAIN Dataset for the Demographics on TRAIN Learners has been compiled for the years 2003 through 2012 and includes 631,295 records. 

There are several limitations to this dataset.  The demographics data collected on TRAIN often reflects the information provided by the user at the time they signed up for TRAIN and may not always be current.  Additionally, there are also several data fields that are optional on TRAIN (i.e. education level, sex, ethnicity, race, date of birth, primary and secondary language) and are not provided by all users. 

If you are interested in accessing these datasets, please view the Using TRAIN for Research: Your Guide to Using the TRAIN Datasets for Research webinar, or you can access it by clicking on the "View Resource" link above, then download and print a copy of the TRAIN Data Use Agreement.  Read, sign, and fax or email the completed TRAIN Data Use Agreement to:

• FAX:  Attn: TRAIN, 202-218-4409
• EMAIL:  Subject: TRAIN DUA, training@phf.org 

Recognizing that the needs of PHSSR extend beyond these three datasets, PHF invites researchers to request customized data from TRAIN to meet specific needs. Requested data can include any fields in TRAIN related to workforce questions, but cannot include any potentially identifying information. For more information on the field of Public Health Services and Systems Research please refer to our PHSSR page.

Public Health Foundation has updated the datasets to include 2012 information in order to keep the datasets accurate. You must obtain approval before you are able to access the TRAIN Datasets.