DOI: 10.3886/icpsr28881.v2
title: Health Interview Survey, 1968
title: Version 2

description: The 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. This 1968 study was a transition for the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) to calendar year. The 1968 files include both fiscal year files and calendar year files, with some overlap between corresponding fiscal year and calendar year files. During the fiscal year, the NHIS sample was split and two types of questionnaires were administered to approximately half of the overall sample: the "condition approach" questionnaire and the "person approach" questionnaire. During the second half of calendar year 1968, the entire NHIS sample was interviewed using the person approach questionnaire. During this time period, five NHIS files are referred to as "core" files because they were administered each year (through 1996). The five core files are Household, Person, Condition, Doctor Visit, and Hospital. No evidence of a fiscal year Household file was found, and the existing calendar year Household file had too many anomalies to be included in this release. Thus, this release consists of fiscal year and calendar year versions of four out of the five core files, and three supplement files, for a total of eleven files.
The eleven types of records in this year's survey are each in a separate data file. The Person Calendar and Fiscal Year files (Part 1 and Part 6) include 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. The Person files also supply data on height, weight, bed days, doctor visits, hospital stays, years at residence, and region variables. The Condition Calendar and Fiscal Year files (Part 2 and Part 7) contain information for each reported health condition, with specifics on injury and accident reports. The Hospital Calendar and Fiscal Year files (Part 3 and Part 8) provide 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 Calendar and Fiscal Year files (Part 4 and Part 8) document doctor visits within the time period and identify acute or chronic conditions. The Motor Vehicle Person Accident Calendar and Fiscal Year files (Part 5 and Part 10) contain information regarding types of motor accidents, how many vehicles were involved in a given accident, injuries acquired from a given accident, time of day the accident occurred, and treatments given as a result of a given accident. The Home Care Fiscal Year file (Part 11) documents basic demographic information, eating habits, in-home mobility, hospital visits, and the extent to which basic living activities and needs are performed with or without aid.
description: These data contain multiple weight variables for each part. Users should refer to the User Guide for further information regarding the weights and their derivation. Additionally, users may need to weight the data prior to analysis.
description: A multistage probability sample was used in selecting housing units.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Person Level -- Calendar Year
DS2: Condition Level -- Calendar Year
DS3: Hospital Level -- Calendar Year
DS4: Doctor Visit Level -- Calendar Year
DS5: Motor Vehicle Person Accident Level -- Calendar Year
DS6: Person Level -- Fiscal Year
DS7: Condition Level -- Fiscal Year
DS8: Hospital Level -- Fiscal Year
DS9: Doctor Visit Level -- Fiscal Year
DS10: Motor Vehicle Person Accident Level -- Fiscal Year
DS11: Home Care Level -- Fiscal Year
description: Civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States.
description: face-to-face interviewThese data files contain weights, which must be
used in any analysis.Per agreement with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), ICPSR distributes
the data files and text of the technical documentation for this collection as prepared by NCHS.