DOI: 10.3886/icpsr04222.v1
title: National Health Interview Survey, 2003
title: Version 1

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 2003 NHIS contains the Household, Family,
 Person, Sample Adult, Sample Child, Child Immunization, and Injury and
 Poison Episode data files from the basic module. Each record in the
 Household-Level File (Part 1) 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. 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. A randomly-selected adult in each family was interviewed
 for the Sample Adult File (Part 4) regarding respiratory conditions,
 renal conditions, AIDS, joint symptoms, health status, limitation of
 daily activities, and behaviors such as smoking, alcohol consumption,
 and physical activity. Also included in this file are variables
 pertaining to the Healthy People 2010 Objectives. The Sample Child
 File (Part 5) 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, the use of mental health services, and
 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The Child
 Immunization File (Part 6) presents information from shot records on
 vaccination status, number and dates of shots, and information about
 the chicken pox vaccine. Episode-based information regarding injuries
 and poisonings is found in the Injury and Poison Episode File (Part
 7), which examines the cause and date of injury or poisoning, loss of
 time from work or school, and whether the episode resulted in
 hospitalization. Information in the Injury and Poison Verbatim File
 (Part 8) is comprised of narrative text describing injuries, including
 type of injury, how the injury occurred, and the body part
injured.
description: These data contain multiple weight variables for each part.
 Users should refer to the technical documentation for further
 information regarding the weight and their derivation. Additionally,
users may need to weight the data prior to analysis.
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: Sample Adult File
DS5: Sample Child File
DS6: Child Immunization File
DS7: Injury and Poison Episode File
DS8: Injury and Poison Verbatim File
description: Civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the 50 states
and the District of Columbia.
description: face-to-face interview(1) 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. (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 Survey Description. (3) To learn more about the
 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), visit the following Web site
 of the Centers for Disease
 Control and Prevention (CDC). 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."