National Health Interview Survey, 2009 (ICPSR 28721)

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The purpose of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 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. Implementation of a redesigned NHIS, consisting of a basic module, a periodic module, and a topical module, began in 1997 (see NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY, 1997 [ICPSR 2954]). The 2009 NHIS contains the Household, Family, Person, Sample Adult, and Sample Child files from the basic module. Each record in Part 1, Household Level, contains data on type of living quarters, number of families in the household responding and not responding, and the month and year of the interview for each sampling unit. Part 2, Family Level, is made up of reconstructed variables from the person-level data of the basic module and includes information on sex, age, race, marital status, Hispanic origin, education, veteran status, family income, family size, major activities, health status, activity limits, and employment status, along with industry and occupation. As part of the basic module, Part 3, Person Level, provides information on all family members with respect to health status, limitation of daily activities, cognitive impairment, and health conditions. Also included are variables related to doctor visits, hospital stays, and health care access and utilization. A randomly-selected adult in each family was interviewed for Part 4, Sample Adult Level, regarding respiratory conditions, renal conditions, AIDS, joint symptoms, health status, limitation of daily activities, and behaviors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. Part 5, Sample Child Level, provides information from an adult in the household on medical conditions of one child in the household, such as respiratory problems, seizures, allergies, and use of special equipment like hearing aids, braces, or wheelchairs. Part 6, Injury/Poison Episode, is an episode-based file that contains information about the external cause and nature of the injury or poisoning episode and what the person was doing at the time of the injury or poisoning episode, in addition to the date and place of occurrence. Part 7, Injury/Poison Episode Verbatim, contains edited narrative text descriptions of the injury or poisoning, provided by the respondent. Part 8, Disability Questions Tests 2008/2009, provides information pertaining to four key areas of disability: Vision, hearing, mobility, and cognintive functioning. The data for Part 8 were collected over the span of five calendar quarters from October 2008 through the end of 2009. Part 9, Paradata, does not contain health related information, but rather data which are related to the interview process, including measures of time, contact-ability, and cooperation.

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In preparing the data files for this collection, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) 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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