Synthetic: National Population Health Survey, 1996-1997: General File [Canada]: Cycle 2

Please note: This is a Synthetic data file, also known as a Dummy file - it is not real data. This synthetic file should not be used for purposes other than to develop an test computer programs that are to be submitted by remote access. Each record in the synthetic file matches the format and content parameters of the real Statistics Canada Master File with which it is associated, but the data themselves have been 'made up'. They do NOT represent responses from real individuals and should NOT be used for actual analysis. These data are provided solely for the purpose of testing statistical package 'code' (e.g. SPSS syntax, SAS programs, etc.) in preperation for analysis using the associated Master File in a Research Data Centre, by Remote Job Submission, or by some other means of secure access. If statistical analysis 'code' works with the synthetic data, researchers can have some confidence that the same code will run successfully against the Master File data in the Resource Data Centres. In the fall of 1991, the National Health Information Council recommended that an ongoing national survey of population health be conducted. This recommendation was based on consideration of the economic and fiscal pressures on the health care systems and the requirement for information with which to improve the health status of the population in Canada. Commencing in April 1992, Statistics Canada received funding for development of a National Population Health Survey (NPHS). The NPHS collects information related to the health of the Canadian population and related socio-demographic information to: aid in the development of public policy by providing measures of the level, trend and distribution of the health status of the population, provide data for analytic studies that will assist in understanding the determinants of health, and collect data on the economic, social, demographic, occupational and environmental correlates of health. In addition the NPHS seeks to increase the understanding of the relationship between health status and health care utilization, including alternative as well as traditional services, and also to allow the possibility of linking survey data to routinely collected administrative data such as vital statistics, environmental measures, community variables, and health services utilization. The NPHS collects information related to the health of the Canadian population and related socio-demographic information. It is composed of three components: the Households, the Health Institutions, and the North components. The Household component started in 1994/1995 and is conducted every two years. The first two cycles (1994/1995, 1996/1997) were both cross-sectional and longitudinal. The NPHS longitudinal sample includes 17,276 persons from all ages in 1994/1995 and these same persons are to be interviewed every two years. Each cycle, a common set of health questions is asked to the respondents. This allows for the analysis of changes in the health of the respondents over time. In addition to the common set of questions, the questionnaire does include focus content and supplements that change from cycle to cycle. Health Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada and provincial ministries of health use NPHS longitudinal data to plan, implement and evaluate programs and health policies to improve health and the efficiency of health services. Non-profit health organizations and researchers in the academic fields use the information to move research ahead and to improve health.

请注意：本文件为合成数据文件，亦称虚拟文件（Dummy file）——并非真实数据。此类合成文件仅可用于开发并测试将通过远程访问提交的计算机程序，不得用于其他用途。本合成文件中的每条记录均与其关联的加拿大统计局（Statistics Canada）主文件的格式与内容参数保持一致，但数据本身均为“虚构生成”。这些数据绝不代表真实个体的反馈，亦不得用于实际分析。
本数据集仅用于在研究数据中心通过远程作业提交或其他安全访问方式，使用关联主文件开展分析前，测试统计软件代码（如SPSS语法（SPSS syntax）、SAS程序（SAS programs）等）。若某统计分析代码可在此合成数据上正常运行，则研究人员可据此推断，该代码在资源数据中心的主文件数据上也能成功执行。
1991年秋，加拿大国家卫生信息委员会（National Health Information Council）提议开展一项持续性的全国人口健康调查。该提议的提出，是基于对医疗保健系统面临的经济与财政压力，以及获取相关信息以改善加拿大国民健康状况的需求。1992年4月起，加拿大统计局获得全国人口健康调查（National Population Health Survey, NPHS）的开发经费。
全国人口健康调查旨在收集加拿大国民健康及相关社会人口统计学信息，具体用途包括：通过提供国民健康水平、趋势与分布的衡量指标，助力公共政策制定；为分析研究提供数据，以协助理解健康的决定因素；收集与健康相关的经济、社会、人口、职业及环境关联因素的数据。此外，该调查还旨在加深对健康状况与医疗保健利用（包括替代疗法与传统医疗服务）之间关系的理解，并支持将调查数据与常规收集的行政数据（如生命统计、环境指标、社区变量及医疗服务利用数据）进行关联分析。
全国人口健康调查涵盖加拿大国民健康及相关社会人口统计学信息，由三个部分组成：家庭部分、卫生机构部分以及北部地区部分。家庭部分始于1994/1995年度，每两年开展一次。前两轮调查周期（1994/1995、1996/1997）同时采用横断面与纵向设计。NPHS的纵向样本涵盖1994/1995年度的17276名各年龄段受访者，且将每两年对这些受访者进行一次回访。每个调查周期均会向受访者询问一组通用健康问题，这使得分析受访者健康状况随时间的变化成为可能。除通用问题外，问卷还包含随周期变化的重点内容与补充模块。
加拿大卫生部、加拿大公共卫生署以及各省级卫生部门利用NPHS纵向数据规划、实施并评估旨在改善国民健康状况与医疗服务效率的项目与卫生政策。非营利性卫生组织与学术领域的研究人员则借助该数据推进研究工作，改善国民健康水平。