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RADAY2WKRSID
Other restricted activity days in past 2 weeks - Residual Measure
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Description

RADAY2WKRSID reports the number of days during the past 2 weeks -- other than bed days, school-loss days or work-loss days -- that illness or injury caused a person to cut down on usual activities for as much as a day.

Definitions 

The 1968-1996 Field Representative's Manuals characterize "usual activities" as follows:

The things a person usually does are the person's "Usual activities." For school children and most adults, "usual activities" would be going to school, working, keeping house, etc. For children under school age, "usual activities" depend upon whatever the usual pattern is for the child which will, in turn, be affected by the age of the child, weather conditions, etc. For retired or elderly persons, "usual activities" might consist of almost no activity, but cutting down on even a small amount would mean that a person should answer "Yes" to the question.

"Usual activities" on Sundays or holidays are the things the person usually does on such days, such as going to church, playing golf, visiting friends or relatives, staying at home and listening to the radio, reading, looking at television, etc.

In those cases where the "usual activity" was difficult to determine, interviewers were instructed to "accept the respondent's view of what he himself considers to be his usual activities." For example, interviewers were instructed to accept "working" as a usual activity, even if reported by a person having a heart condition that prevented any work for a year or more.

As noted above, RADAY2WKRSID reports specifically on usual activities "cut down" by "as much as a day." These are referred to as "cut down days." The 1968-1996 Field Representative's Manuals characterize "cut down" as follows:

Restricted activity does not imply complete inactivity but it does imply the minimum of the things a person usually does. A special nap for an hour after lunch does not constitute cutting down on usual activities for as much as a day, nor does the elimination of a heavy chore, such as cleaning ashes out of the furnace or hanging out the wash. All or most of a person's usual activities for the day must have been restricted for the person to have a cut-down day.

The 1968-1981 Field Representative's Manuals state that the meaning of the expression "for as much as a day" is "the whole of that day." Thus, for 1968-1981, the Field Representative's Manuals characterize a cut down day as:

A day of restricted activity (cut down) is a day when a person cuts down on his usual activities for the whole of that day [for that entire day] on account of [because of] an illness or injury.

Although the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) intended "cut down day" to mean, in 1968-1981, cutting down on activities for the whole day [the entire day] on account of an illness or injury, the 1968-1981 survey questions asked about activities cut down for as much as a day on account of an illness or injury. This possible tension between the intention of the NCHS, and the wording of the 1968-1981 survey questions was resolved, beginning in 1982, with a rewording of the survey question:

"(Again, not counting the day(s) [missed from work, missed from school, (and) in bed]), During that period, how many (OTHER) days did [person] cut down for more than half of the day because of illness or injury?"

Thus, as noted in The National Health Interview Survey Design, 1973-84, and Procedures, 1975-83, starting in 1982, the concept of a cut down day meaning more than half a day was directly communicated to the respondent in the survey questions asked.

Reflecting this change in the survey question, the 1982-1996 Field Representative's Manuals define a cut down day as:

Cut-down day--A day of restricted activity during which a person cuts down on usual activities for MORE than half of that day because of illness or injury.

Data Collection Process 

1968-1974
For 1968-1974, there was a specific survey question associated with RADAY2WKRSID. How the question was asked depended on answers to previous, sequentially asked questions about "days in bed" in the past two weeks (BDDAY2WK), "days lost from school" in the past two weeks (SLDAY2WK), and "days lost from work" in the past two weeks (WLDAY2WK). In particular:
  • If the respondent did not report any "bed days" (BDDAY2WK) or "school-loss days" (SLDAY2WK) or "work-loss days in the past two weeks" (WLDAY2WK), then interviewers asked, "Were there any days in the past two weeks that [person] had to cut down on the things he usually does because of illness or injury?"
In contrast, if the respondent reported one or more days in bed, or one or more school-loss days, or one or more work-loss days in the past two weeks, then the question associated with RADAY2WKRSID specifically asked the respondent to omit these days. In particular:
  • If the respondent reported one or more bed days in the past two weeks (BDDAY2WK), but neither school-loss days (SLDAY2WK) nor work-loss days (WLDAY2WK) in the past two weeks, then interviewers asked, "NOT COUNTING the days in bed, were there any days in the past two weeks that [person] had to cut down on the things he usually does because of an illness or injury?"
  • If the respondent reported one or more bed days in the past two weeks (BDDAY2WK) and one or more school-loss days in the past two weeks (SLDAY2WK), but not any work-loss days in the past two weeks (WLDAY2WK), then interviewers asked, "NOT COUNTING the days in bed and days lost from school, were there any days in the past two weeks that [person] had to cut down on the things he usually does because of an illness or injury?"
  • If the respondent reported one or more bed days in the past two weeks (BDDAY2WK), and both one or more school-loss days (SLDAY2WK) and one or more work-loss days in the past two weeks (WLDAY2WK), then interviewers asked, "NOT COUNTING the days in bed, the school-loss days and the work-loss days, were there any days in the past two weeks that [person] had to cut down on the things he usually does because of an illness or injury?"
As noted in the Current Estimates from the Health Interview Survey: United States, 1982, in 1968-1981 the NCHS edited codes of "15 or more days" for any of the questions that conditioned how RADAY2WKRSID was asked, to 14 days.
1975-1981
The question associated with RADAY2WKRSID in the1968-1974 surveys was asked in the 1975-1981 surveys. Moreover, the conditions on how the question was asked in 1975-1981 are the same as those used in 1968-1974. In contrast to 1968-1974, there are no publicly available data for the question in 1975-1981.
1982-1996
In 1982-1996, there is a specific survey question associated with RADAY2WKRSID, and there are publicly available data. The survey question associated with RADAY2WKRSID in 1982-1996 is the same survey question as in 1968-1981. Moreover, the conditions on how the question was asked in 1982-1996 are the same as those used in the earlier 1968-1981 period (identified above).

As noted in the Current Estimates from the Health Interview Survey: United States, 1982, the NCHS edited codes of "15 or more days" for any of the questions that conditioned how RADAY2WKRSID was asked, to 0 days.

Comparability

This variable is largely comparable across years. However, as noted previously, the meaning of cut down days is slightly different in 1968-1981 than in 1982-1996. In 1968-1981, although the survey question asked only about activities cut down for as much as a day because of an illness or injury, the NCHS intended cut down days refer to "the whole of that day." In contrast, in 1982-1996, the intent of the NCHS to use cut down day to refer to activities cut down for "more than half of the day" because of an illness or injury was incorporated directly into the survey question. This variation may affect the comparability of the variable across the two time-periods.

Researchers might also want to utilize RADAY2WKTOT, which reports the total restricted activity days during the past 2 weeks.

Universe

  • 1968-1974: All persons.
  • 1982-1996: All persons.

Availability

  • 1968-1974, 1982-1996

Weights