National Health Interview Survey Series

collection: series

Investigator(s): National Center for Health Statistics

Studies

50

Variables

53,186

Publications

998

About this Collection

Conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the Health Interview Surveys (later titled National Health Interview Survey) first began gathering information as of 1957. Microdata files were permanently retained beginning in 1963.

The NHIS obtains 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.

The series provides a continuous sampling and interviewing of the civilian, non-institutionalized population of the United States through core surveys and supplemental datasets. Supplemental NHIS data provide information on topics such as AIDS knowledge and attitudes, child health care and immunization, dental care, substance abuse, hospitalization, preventive care, nursing care, prosthetic appliances, and self-care.

Supplements on Aging (SOA) conducted in 1984 and 1994 and the 1984-1990 Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA) were designed to furnish information on the causes and correlates of changes in the health and functioning of older Americans. Another component of the NHIS is the National Health Interview Survey on Disability (NHIS-D). Begun in 1994, the NHIS-D was designed to collect data that can be used to understand disability and to develop public policy on disability.

Starting in 1997, the NHIS was redesigned to include a basic module, a periodic module, and a topical module. The basic module corresponds to the NHIS core questionnaire and is made up of the family core, the sample adult core, and the sample child core questions. The periodic module provides more detailed information on topics resulting from the basic module. The topical modules correspond to the supplements of the 1982-1996 NHIS and focus on public health data needs as they arise.

While the NHIS has been conducted continuously since 1957, the content of the survey has been updated about every 10-15 years.

Recent years of data from this series can be found by visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) project website and will not be curated by ICPSR and NACDA to avoid duplicate efforts and distribution.

Studies

50 results

National Health Interview Survey: Longitudinal Study of Aging, 70 Years and Over, 1984-1990

This study, commonly known as the Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA), was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in collaboration with the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and designed to (1) provide mortality rates by demographic, social, economic, and health characteristics that are not available from the vital statistics system, (2) measure change in the functional status and living arrangements of older people, and (3) provide measures of health care use. It was also designed to describe the continuum from functionally independent living in the community through dependence, possible institutionalization, and finally death. The LSOA is an extension of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) of 1984, following its sample of 16,148 noninstitutionalized elderly people (55 years and over) living in the United States, with a special focus on those who were 70 years and over in 1984. This release of the LSOA contains data on those respondents who had been 70 years and older at the time of their 1984 interviews. The data include 1986, 1988, and 1990 reinterviews, National Death Index matches from 1984-1989, and 1987 interviews with contact persons named by decedents, as well as selected variables from the 1984 NHIS core questionnaire and its two supplements, Health Insurance and the Supplement on Aging (SOA). Two Medicare files are also included: Part 2, Medicare Hospital Records, and Part 3, Other Medicare Use Records (which covers home health care, hospice, and outpatient use). Links also are provided to allow merging of additional variables from the NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY, 1984 (ICPSR 8659).

National Health Interview Survey, 1985

The basic purpose of the National 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 household, and geographic region. The variables in the Person File (Part 2) include sex, age, race, marital status, veteran status, education, income, industry and occupation codes, and limits on activity. 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 (Part 3), Doctor Visit (Part 4), and the Hospital Episode (Part 5) Files contain information on each reported condition, two-week doctor visit, or hospitalization (twelve-month recall), respectively. A sixth, seventh, and eighth file have been added along with the five core files. The Health Promotions and Disease Prevention Supplement is separated into three categories as follows: Child Safety/Infant Feeding (Part 6), Sample Person (Part 7), and Smoking (Part 8). These data files include questions on health and fitness awareness, general health habits, injury control, child safety and health, high blood pressure, stress, exercise, smoking, alcohol use, dental care, and occupational safety and health.

National Health Interview Survey, 1984

The basic 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. There are five types of records in this core survey, each in a separate data file. The variables in the Household File (Part 1) include type of living quarters, size of family, region, and type of sampling area. The Person File (Part 2) includes sex, age, race, marital status, veteran status, and education. 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 (Part 3), Doctor Visit (Part 4), and Hospital Episode (Part 5) Files contain information on each reported acute or chronic condition, doctor visit, or hospitalization, respectively. A sixth, seventh, and eighth file have been provided. The Health Insurance Supplement File (Part6) contains information on the type of health insurance held by each respondent from the Person file. Parts 7-8 comprise the Supplement on Aging (SOA) Files divided into Condition and Person Public Use Files respectively, and contain data on a subset of the NHIS population, those aged 55 and over. These files contain the same Condition and Person variables as Parts 2-3 but are supplemented by questions pertaining specifically to the subpopulation of older respondents. These additional variables cover family relationships and support, community and social support, occupation and retirement, nursing home stays, help with care, health opinions, and other health-related and social information about middle-aged and older people.
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