ABOUT IPUMS NHIS

IPUMS Health Surveys: NHIS is a harmonized set of data covering more than 50 years (1963-present) of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The NHIS is the principal source of information on the health of the U.S. population, covering such topics as general health status, the distribution of acute and chronic illness, functional limitations, access to and use of medical services, insurance coverage, and health behaviors (such as exercise, diet, and tobacco and alcohol consumption). On average, the survey covers 100,000 persons in 45,000 households each year. The IPUMS NHIS facilitates cross-time comparisons of these invaluable survey data by coding variables identically across time. With IPUMS NHIS microdata (information about individual persons and households), researchers can use their desired set of variables to create tabulations and multivariate analyses tailored to their particular questions.

IPUMS NHIS also provides detailed documentation covering comparability issues for harmonized variables and an interactive data extraction system. IPUMS NHIS data are distributed for free over the Internet to any person who agrees to follow the responsible use guidelines set by the National Center for Health Statistics.

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Current IPUMS NHIS Data

IPUMS NHIS currently contains over 17,000 integrated variables from 1963 to present. Accompanying web-based documentation provides variable-specific information about:

• Years available
• Variable universe
• Interpretation of the variable
• Comparability issues
• Codes and frequencies for each year
• Guidance on which weights to use

Other useful features include:

• Online user notes discussing such topics as sample designs, weights, and variance estimation
• A data extraction system enabling users to create extracts with only the years and variables they require
• Online questionnaire text linked to corresponding variable descriptions
• Crosswalk between IPUMS NHIS and NHIS variables
• Variable search tool
• Online tabulator
• User support to help users encountering problems

Benefits of using IPUMS NHIS

• Reduces costs of research by minimizing initial investments in data preparation
• Simplifies access to data across multiple years and data files (core survey and supplements)
• Facilitates consistent comparisons across almost five decades of dramatic change in public health
• Documents changes in concepts and comparability issues