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GLAUCTESTYRS
Years since glaucoma test
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Codes and Frequencies



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Description

GLAUCTESTYRS reports the amount of time since the last glaucoma test. Interviewers asked, "About how long has it been since [you/person] had a test for glaucoma - (this is) sometimes referred to as an eye pressure test?"

According to the 1973 and 1982 Field Representative's Manuals, this question was part of a survey section dealing with the use of preventive care services. For the preventive care supplement, in both 1973 and 1982, interviewers were directed to interview persons directly rather than relying on proxy reporting; see CXRAYRS for more information.

Related Variables 

Other variables in the 1973 and 1982 surveys that report time since specific types of preventive care include: CXRAYRS (for chest x-ray), EKGYRS (for electrocardiogram), and EYEXAMYRS (for vision test).

For 1973, responses to the question on years since last glaucoma test were topcoded at 10+ years in the NHIS public use files created by the National Center for Health Statistics. Single year responses up to 40+ years for years since last glaucoma test are available for 1982, in GLAUTESTYREX.

Information on whether individuals were ever diagnosed as having glaucoma is available in 1999 and 2002 (GLAUCOMAEV). In 2002 only, a follow-up question identified those who had glaucoma in the past 12 months (GLAUCOMAYR).

Comparability

While the question wording and universe for GLAUCTESTYRS were identical for 1973 and 1982, there were differences in how responses to this question were collected and recorded.

 

The 1973 Manual provided the following instruction to interviewers for this question:

Mark the 'Never' or 'Less than 1 year' box or enter the number of years on the line provided. Ignore fractions of years--enter the number of full years only.

By contrast, the 1982 Manual encouraged interviewers to press for exact responses and record fractions of years, as follows:

For questions which require an entry for the length of time since the person last had the procedure done, mark the appropriate box or enter the number of years on the line provided. Enter fractions of years, as appropriate. If you receive an answer of "About 1 year," probe to determine a more specific number and enter that response. If the respondent is unable to provide a specific number, enter the original response. Also probe if a range (e.g., "3-5 years") is given. Record the range only if the respondent cannot provide a more exact response.

Universe

  • 1973; 1982: Persons age 40+.

Availability

  • 1973, 1982

Weights