DOI: 10.3886/icpsr02954.v2
title: National Health Interview Survey, 1997
title: Version 2

description: 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 with the 1997 data collection. The present
 collection consists of the basic module only, plus additional
 household data. The basic module corresponds to the former NHIS core
 questionnaire and is made up of the family core, the sample adult
 core, and the sample child core questions. Each record in the
 Household-Level File (Part 1) contains information on the type of
 living quarters, number of families in the household responding and
 not responding, and the month and year of the interview for each
 eligible sampling unit. The Family-Level File (Part 2) 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, the
 Person-Level File (Part 3) provides information on all family members
 with respect to health status, limitation of daily activities,
 cognitive impairment, and health conditions. Also included are data on
 years at current residence, region variables, height, weight, bed
 days, doctor visits, hospital stays, and health care access and
 utilization. Episode-based information is found in the Injury Episode
 File (Part 4), while the Poison Episode File (Part 5) examines the
 cause and date of injury or poisoning, loss of time from work or
 school, and whether the poisoning resulted in
 hospitalization. Information in the Injury Verbatim File (Part 6) is
 comprised of narrative text describing injuries, including type of
 injury, how the injury occurred, and the body part injured. A
 randomly-selected adult in each family was interviewed for the Sample
 Adult File (Part 7) regarding respiratory conditions, renal
 conditions, AIDS, and joint symptoms, along with questions regarding
 health status, limitation of daily activities, and behaviors such as
 smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. The Sample Child
 File (Part 8) provides information from a knowledgeable adult in the
 household on medical conditions of one child in the household, such as
 respiratory problems, seizures, allergies, and use of special
 equipment such as hearing aids, braces, or wheelchairs. Also included
 are questions regarding child behavior and the use of mental health
 services. The Child Immunization File (Part 9) presents information
 from shot records and supplies vaccination status, along with the
 number and dates of shots, and information about chicken pox
vaccines.
description: The NHIS uses a stratified multistage probability design.
 The sample for the NHIS is redesigned every decade using population
 data from the most recent decennial census. A redesigned sample was
 implemented in 1995. This new design includes a greater number of
 primary sampling units (PSUs) (from 198 in 1994 to 358), and a more
 complicated nonresponse adjustment based on household screening and
 oversampling of Black and Hispanic persons, for more reliable
estimates of these groups.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Household-Level File
DS2: Family-Level File
DS3: Person-Level File
DS4: Injury Episode File
DS5: Poison Episode File
DS6: Injury Verbatim File
DS7: Sample Adult File
DS8: Sample Child File
DS9: Child Immunization File
description: Civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the 50 states
and the District of Columbia.
description: (1) Users should refer to the codebook for a detailed
 description of the changes implemented for the 1997 NHIS. (2) The data
 from the Household-Level File can be merged with any of the other
 files, and other files can be merged as well. For further information
 on merging data, consult the codebook. (3) The periodic module is not
 yet available from NCHS. When released, it will provide more detailed
 information on topics resulting from the basic module. The topical
 module, when released, will correspond to the supplements of the
 1982-1996 NHIS and will focus on public health data needs as they
 arise. (4) Per agreement with NCHS, ICPSR distributes the data files
 and text of the technical documentation in this collection in their
 original form as prepared by NCHS. (5) The codebooks, coding manual,
 and data collection instruments are provided by ICPSR as Portable
 Document Format (PDF) files. The PDF file format was developed by
 Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader
 software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to
 obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web
site.