Description

For sample adults, DISERRANDP indicates whether the respondent had difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor's office or shopping, because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition. For 2008-2017, DISERRANDP is available for persons age 15 and older who lived in families that received the Family Disability questions.

Beginning in 2019, DISERRANDP is one of three functional limitation variables that the NHIS continues to collect but are not part of the Washington Group measures on disability. (See our user note on the Washington Group Disability Measures.) The three measures asked in addition to the Washington Group measures capture limitations in participation in everyday life activities by determining difficulties experienced by sample adults participating in work (LAMTWRK), running errands alone (DISERRANDP), and participating in social activities (DSOCIALP) due to a physical, mental, or emotional condition.

Comparability

The comparability of DISERRANDP over time is affected by changes in the universe, response categories, and comparability challenges introduced by the 2019 redesign. Before 2019, DISERRANDP was available for persons age 15 and older living in families that received the Family Disability questions. In 2008, DISERRANDP was available to persons meeting these criteria, but only in calendar quarter 4. Beginning in 2019, DISERRANDP was moved to the sample adult questionnaire and asked of all sample adults aged 18 and older.

Before 2019, the response categories for DISERRANDP were dichotomous: yes, had difficulty running errands and no, did not have difficulty running errands. Beginning in 2019, DISERRANDP instead reports the level of difficulty the person experienced in running errands: none, some, a lot, or cannot do at all.

Although the general meaning of DISERRANDP is comparable over time, questionnaire design changes introduced in 2019 limit comparability with earlier years. The NHIS questionnaire was substantially redesigned in 2019 to introduce a different data collection structure and new content. For more information on changes in terminology, universes, and data collection methods beginning in 2019, please see the user note.

Universe

Availability

• 2008-2017, 2019-2023

Weights

• 2010 : PERWEIGHT
• 2019-2023 : SAMPWEIGHT
• 2008-2009 : SUPP1WT
• 2011-2017 : SUPP2WT