National Health Interview Survey, 2006

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 2006 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, Personl 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, use of nasal spray,
renal conditions, AIDS, joint symptoms, health status, limitation of
daily activities, and behaviors such as smoking, alcohol consumption,
and physical activity in addition to questions regarding stroke,
diabetes, arthritis, and weight control. 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, the use of mental health services, and
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as well as responses
to the SDQ, the Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire on child
mental health. The 2006 data contain the Child Mental Health Brief
(CMB), Child Mental Health Services (CMS) and Child Influenza
Immunization (CFI) sections. 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. Imputed income files for 2006
are now available through the
NCHS Web site.