Health Interview Survey, 1980 (ICPSR 8223)

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The basic purpose of the Health Interview Survey is to obtain information about the amount and distribution of illness, its effects in terms of disability and chronic impairments, and the kinds of health services people receive. There are five types of records in the core survey, each in a separate data file. The variables in the Household File (Part 1) include type of living quarters, size of family, number of families in the household, presence of a telephone, number of unrelated individuals, and region. The Person File (Part 2) includes information on sex, age, race, marital status, Hispanic origin, education, veteran status, family income, family size, major activities, health status, activity limits, employment status, and industry and occupation. These variables are found in the Condition, Doctor Visit, and Hospital Episode Files as well. The Person File also supplies data on height, weight, bed days, doctor visits, hospital stays, years at residence, and region variables. The Condition File (Part 3) contains information for each reported health condition, with specifics on injury and accident reports. The Hospital Episode File (Part 4) provides information on medical conditions, hospital episodes, type of service, type of hospital ownership, date of admission and discharge, number of nights in hospital, and operations performed. The Doctor Visit File (Part 5) documents doctor visits within the time period and identifies acute or chronic conditions. A sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth data set have been supplied along with the core files. The Health Insurance Supplement File (Part 6) contains questions about health insurance plans. The type of plan, including private, Medicare, Medicaid, military and other plans, and coverage or reasons for lack of coverage are provided. The Home Care Supplement File (Part 7) includes variables which were used to define the need for personal (individual) home care as a result of a chronic health condition, as well as the use of eyeglasses and contact lenses and hearing aids. The Residential Mobility Supplement File (Part 8) asks questions concerning where the respondent lives, length of time at an address, number of moves, number of miles moved, and with whom the respondent lives. The Smoking Supplement File (Part 9) contains variables on smoking status, number of cigarettes smoked, length of time smoked, tar and nicotine levels, and attempts to quit smoking.

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In preparing the data files for this collection, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has removed direct identifiers and characteristics that might lead to identification of data subjects. As an additional precaution, NCHS requires, under Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242m), that data collected by NCHS not be used for any purpose other than statistical analysis and reporting. NCHS further requires that analysts not use the data to learn the identity of any persons or establishments and that the director of NCHS be notified if any identities are inadvertently discovered. ICPSR member institutions and other users ordering data from ICPSR are expected to adhere to these restrictions.

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