DOI: 10.3886/icpsr27341.v3
title: National Health Interview Survey, 2008
title: Version 3

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 in 1997 (see NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY, 1997 [ICPSR 2954]). The 2008 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 data on years at current residence, region variables, height, weight, bed days, doctor visits, hospital stays, and health care access and utilization. A randomly-selected adult in each family was interviewed for Part 4, Sample Adult, regarding respiratory conditions, renal conditions, AIDS, joint symptoms, health status, limitation of daily activities, and behaviors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. Additionally, questions regarding oral health, asthma, balance, cancer screening, heart disease, HPV, immunization, and vision were fielded. Part 5, Sample Child, 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. Also included are variables regarding child behavior, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), oral health, asthma, indoor tanning, HPV, immunization, mental health, and vision. 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, 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.
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: The NHIS uses a stratified multistage probability design.
Oversampling of the Black and Hispanic populations has been retained
in 2008 to allow for more precise estimation of health characteristics
in these growing minority populations. The new sample design also
oversamples the Asian population.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Household Level
DS2: Family Level
DS3: Person Level
DS4: Sample Adult Level
DS5: Sample Child Level
DS6: Injury/Poison Episode Level
DS7: Injury/Poison Verbatim Level
DS8: Paradata Level
description: Civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the 50 states
and the District of Columbia.
description: face-to-face interviewTo learn more
about the National Health Interview Survey, visit the
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site. At that site you can join
the HISUSERS e-mail list by providing your name and e-mail address,
selecting the item, "National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
researchers", and clicking on "subscribe".Imputed income files for 2008
are now available through the
NCHS Web site.The User Guide contains information regarding the
merging of files and the use of weight variables, along with
information regarding changes to the 2008 NHIS.Questionnaires have been provided
in both English and Spanish.Beginning in 2005,
the NHIS no longer allows an emancipated minor (someone between the
ages of 14 and 17 living on their own without supervision of an adult
family member or legal guardian) to be an eligible respondent or a
sample adult or sample child. An emancipated minor is not eligible to
be the respondent for the Sample Child questionnaire even if they are
the parent of the sample child.Analysts should be aware that 263 persons who were active duty members of the Armed
Forces at time of interview are on the Person-Level file and will appear in the unweighted
frequencies, despite the fact that NHIS covers only the civilian noninstitutionalized household
population. These active duty members of the Armed Forces are included in that file because at
least one other family member is a civilian eligible for the survey. The value of the final annual
person weight (WTFA) for these military persons is zero, so they will not be counted when
making national (i.e., weighted) estimates.