Survey description
The National Center for Health Statistics and the National Institute on Aging decided to conduct the Second Supplement on Aging (SOA II), roughly 10 years after the original SOA, with a new cohort of persons age 70 years and over. Because the SOA II closely replicates the SOA in its methodology and content, it is uniquely poised to provide the data necessary for analyzing important temporal changes in health and functioning among older Americans.

The SOA II has four specific aims:

1. To provide a replication of the first SOA in order to determine whether there have been changes in the level of disability among older persons between 1984 and the mid-1990's. Availability of replicated health and functioning measures and their covariates collected on two distinct cohorts will enable researchers to evaluate whether the prevalence of disability or the factors associated with disability are different for the current cohort of women and men age 70 years and over compared with the cohort who were age 70 years and over 10 years prior.

2. To provide information on the causes and correlates of changes in health and functioning in older Americans, including background demographic characteristics, health behaviors and attitudes, preexisting illness, and social and environmental support.

3. To provide information on the sequence and consequences of health events, including utilization of health care and services for assisted community living; on the physiological consequences of disability such as pain and fatigue; on social consequences such as changes in social activities, living arrangements, social support, and use of community services; and on the deployment of assisted living strategies and accessibility of technological and environmental adaptations.

4. To serve as the baseline for the first national second generation prospective study focusing on older Americans, the Second Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA II).

Data file contents
As mentioned previously, the SOA II data file contains information from several sources, including the 1994 NHIS Core questionnaire, the Access to Care Supplement, Phase 1 Disability Supplement, and the Phase 2 interview.

The SOA II questionnaire (DFS-3 instrument) contained modules on a number of scientifically important and policy-relevant domains. These include:
Assistance with activities of daily living,
Chronic conditions and impairments,
Family structure, relationships, and living arrangements,
Health opinions and behaviors,
Use of health, personal care, and social services,
Use of assistive devices and technologies,
Health insurance,
Housing and long-term care,
Social activity,
Employment history, and
Transportation

SOA II Chronic condition prevalence and incidence factor (CCPIF)

Variable fields from 1994 NHIS Supplements
Disability Phase I variable fields
Mental health
Respondent assessed disability
Access to Care

Second Supplement on Aging Variable Fields

Administrative data

Housing and Long-Term Care Services

Transportation

Social Activity

Work History/Employment

Assistive Medical Devices, Technologies, and Implants

Health Insurance

Assistance with Key Activities

Functional Limitation (FL)

Activities of Daily Living (ADL) (bathing/showering, dressing etc.)

Summary/ADL recodes

Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) (preparing own meals etc.)

Summary/IADL recodes

Person(s) helping with key activities

1st helper

2nd helper

3rd helper

4th helper

Summary/helper recodes

Helper who helps most often

Activities helped with (by helper)

Other Services
Visiting Nurse
Personal Care Attendant
Adult Day Care
Family Structure, Relationships, and Living Arrangements
Conditions and Impairments
Health Opinions and Behaviors
Community Services
Proxy Status: Relationship and Reason

The Second Supplement on Aging CD-ROM is available by contacting the Information Dissemination Staff at (301) 436-8500.

CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z

This page last reviewed September 10, 2008