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Summary of NCHS Surveys and Data Collection Systems

Current Surveys and Data Collection Systems

Population Surveys
Name	Data Source & Methods	Selected Data Items	Targeted Sample Size	Disparity Variables	Frequency	FY 2012-2013 Plans
National Health Interview Survey	Personal interviews	Health status and limitations Utilization of health care Poisoning and Injuries Health insurance Access to care Selected health conditions Health Behaviors Functioning/disability Immunizations	35,000 to 51,000 households per year Beginning in 2006, oversample includes blacks, Hispanics and Asians. Sample adults are oversampled if 65+ and one of these minorities	OMB categories ** Detailed Hispanic groups Detailed API groups Family and individual income, poverty level Type of living quarters Acculturation questions/language used during interview Education and occupation Birthplace Citizenship status	Annual	Continue annual survey Provide sampling frame-Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Planned Supplements 2012-Alternative Health/CAM; Functioning and disability; Voice, Speech and Language; Child Balance; Enhanced access to care and utilization questions; Child Mental Health; Immunization; Food Security; Tobacco use; ABCs of heart disease/stroke 2013-Cancer control; Immune Response; Arthritis; Asthma; Epilepsy; enhanced access to care utilization questions; Immunization; Tobacco use; ABCs of heart disease/stroke; *Potential topics
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)	Personal interviews Physical examinations Laboratory tests Nutritional assessment DNA repository	Selected diseases and conditions including those undiagnosed or undetected Nutrition monitoring Environmental exposures monitoring Children's growth & development Infectious disease monitoring Overweight and diabetes Respiratory diseases Hypertension and cholesterol Hearing	5,000 persons per year, all ages Oversample 60+ Oversample blacks, Asians and Hispanics	OMB categories Data for black, white, other, Asian, Mexican American, Hispanic Income and poverty index Education Occupation Type of living quarters Social services Birthplace Acculturation questions re:language usually spoken at home	Annual, with capability for longitudinal follow-up	Data collection for annual sample Data releases on two-year cycles Surveys of other population groups or state and local geographic areas (Community HANES) are being considered
NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey (NYFS)	Personal interviews Physical examinations Dietary assessment	Physical activity and sedentary behavior Dietary intake and diet behavior Dietary supplements and prescription medications Overweight and diabetes Respiratory diseases	1,500 persons 3-15 years of age Screening on age/gender only	OMB categories Data for black, white, other and Hispanic origin Income and poverty status Education Birthplace Acculturation questions re: language usually spoken at home	One year	2012 data collection> NYFS data release Release on NYFS data combined with NHANES 2012 data for ages 3-15 (2013)
National Survey of Family Growth	Personal interviews Men and women 15-44 years of age	Contraception & sterilization Teenage sexual activity & pregnancy Family planning & unintended pregnancy Infertility, adoption, breastfeeding Marriage, divorce, and cohabitation Fatherhood involvement HIV risk behavior	5,000 men and women, 15-44 years each year Oversample blacks, Hispanics and teens	OMB categories 4 specific Hispanic groups Family and individual income Sources of income Education Primary language information collected starting fall 2011	Annual	Data set from continuous interviewing released fall 2011 NCHS NSFG Research Conference October 2012

** OMB categories include white, black or African-American, Asian, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders, American Indian or Alaska Native. Hispanic origin is asked as a separate question.

Vital Records
Name	Data Source & Methods	Selected Data Items	Targeted Sample Size	Disparity Variables	Frequency	FY 2012-2013 Plans
National Vital Statistics System	State vital registration Births Deaths Fetal deaths Linked Birth/Infant Death Program	Birth and death rates Birthweight Teen and nonmarital births Pregnancy outcomes Method of delivery Preterm delivery Multiple births Infant mortality Life expectancy Causes of death Occupational mortality	Births (about 4 million records annually) Deaths (about 2.4 million records annually) Reported fetal deaths of 20+weeks gestation (about 26,000 annually) Counts of marriages and divorces	For births, deaths, and fetal deaths: OMB race categories (additional detail varies by state) and 5 Hispanic groups (additional detail varies by state). Multiple race information available for selected states. Education Births and deaths: OMB categories plus 10 specific API groups from 11 states Marital status Primary language information not collected	Annual	Continue monthly, annual data system Assist states in automating and/or re-engineering their IT systems to enhance timeliness and quality of reporting Complete implementation 2003 revised certificates re-engineering process Complete implementation OMB race guidelines Evaluate quality of new data items added in 2003 Implement new data access methods and reports Develop mortality surveillance system Publish draft rules on mimimum security standards for birth certificates Improve timeliness of vital statistics reports and data files
National Death Index	State registration areas - death certificates	Facilitates epidemiological follow-up studies Verification of death for individuals under study Optional release of coded causes of death available to users upon request NCHS surveys can be linked to NDI	All deaths	Uses pre-1989 race codes for matching purposes	Annual	Continue ongoing operations Re-engineer NDI data system for timely matching services

Provider Surveys
Name	Data Source & Methods	Selected Data Items	Targeted Sample Size	Disparity Variables	Frequency	FY 2012-2013 Plans
National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey	Review medical records for patient visits Interview physicians	Patient characteristics and clinical management Demographics, diagnoses, procedures, medications Provider/clinician characteristics specialty, practice size, ownership Use of electronic medical records	180, 000 patient visits 15,726 physicians in office-based practices 6,024 physician or mid-level providers from 2,008 community health centers	OMB categories	Annual	Continue annual survey Add lab values for cholesterol and measures of diabetes and diabetes control Improve content on electronic medical records Lookback module on preventive services for heart disease and stroke (2012) Selected state-level estimates of preventive services (2012) Asthma management (2012)
National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey - Electronic Health Records	Mail survey of office-based physicians	Provider characteristics Use of electronic medical records/features based practices in 50 states and DC Specialty, practice size, ownership	5,600 physicians in office-based practices in 50 states and DC	None collected	One-time	Data collection and summary statistics
National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey-Physician Workflow Survey	Mail survey of office-based physicians	Provider characteristics Use of electronic medical records and features Speciality, practice size, ownership Facility characteristics Physician attitudes about electronic health records, barriers, benefits and impact	5,600 physicians Follow-up cohort over 3 years (end in 2013)	None collected	Annual until 2013	Data collection and summary statistics
National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey	Review medical records on patient visit Interview hospital administrators	Patient characteristics Patient demographics, length of stay Diagnoses and treatment Facility characteristics Specialty, volume Use of electronic medical records	100,000 patient visits 480 hospitals with EDs, outpatient departments, or ambulatory surgery locations 200 freestanding ambulatory surgery centers Additional sample of 167 hospitals for ED supplement	OMB categories	Annual	Continue annual survey Add free-standing ambulatory surgery centers Improve content on electronic medical records Pilot colonoscopy supplement (2012) Lookback module on preventive services for heart disease and stroke (2012) Selected state-level estimates of emergency department visits and characteristics (2012)
National Hospital Care Survey (will replace the Hospital Discharge Survey)	Linkage to NDI and CMS data Hospital records and all UB04 elements	Utilization of hospital care, inpatient care, and care delivered in EDs, OPDs, hospital-based and/or free standing ACSs	Sample of 500 hospitals	OMB categories	Annual	Impatient component implemented in 2011-2012 Ambulatory pretest in 201 2 Ambulatory component implemented in 2013 Impatient and ambulatory components operational in 2013
National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Facilities (replaced by the National Study of Long-Term Care Providers)	Interview administrators and staff familiar with residents	Patient characteristics Health status and functioning Facility characteristics Facility structure & environment, staffing practices, services, charges Use of electronic medical records	8,450 residents 2,500 facilities	OMB categories	2010-one-time survey	Summary statistics (2012-2013)
National Study of Long-Term Care Providers ( will replace the National Survey of Residential Care Facilities)	Mail/web/telephone/survey of directory of adult day care service centers and residential care communities	Provider characteristics, practices and staffing Aggregated provider-level information on residents/participants including demographics, cognitive impairment, health status, physical functioning Rotating topic modules State-level estimates where feasible	11,700 residential care facilities 5,000 adult day care centers	OMB categories	Core data collection every 2 years starting in 2012	Survey implementation 2012 Report on supply and use of providers (2013) Public use files (2013)

Telephone Surveys
Name	Data Source & Methods	Selected Data Items	Targeted Sample Size	Disparity Variables	Frequency	FY 2012-2013 Plans
National Immunization Survey (NIS) (in partnership with CDC/NCIRD) NIS Child NIS Teen National Household Flu Survey	Landline and cell telephone interviews Provider record check component by mail	Immunization status of preschool childrenand adolescents Demographic characteristics Family resources data Health care utilization Barriers to care	NIS-child 26,000 NIS-teen 24,000 Flu - variable State-level data	OMB categories Income Education of the mother Insurance status	NIS-Children and Teen annual Flu survey - during flu season	Continue NIS-Children and Teen Evaluate need for continued H1N1 survey
State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey National Survey of Adoptive Parents 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents of Children with Special Health Care Needs 2008 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN) 2001, 2005-2006, 2009-2010 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) 2003, 2007, 2011 Survey of Pathways to Diagnosis and Services 2011	Use sampling frame from the NIS	Demographic characteristics Family resources data Health care utilization Functioning Unmet needs Medical Home Conditions Type of adoption Adoption services Family dynamics Foster care experience Child well-being indicators Autism	Use sampling frame from the NIS Telephone interviews	OMB categories Income and poverty levels Education Insurance coverage Primary language	Periodic	Complete NS-CSHCN Plan 2013 Survey

Completed Surveys and Data Collection Systems

Aging

Supplement of Aging (SOA) 1984

The SOA was conducted as a supplement to the 1984 National Health Interview Survey. The study included participants 55 years of age and older to characterize the health and social status of the group, and to provide information on how psychosocial and environmental factors interact with health factors to influence the aging.

Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA) 1984-1990

The SOA served as the baseline for the LSOA, a prospective study with a nationally representative sample of persons 70 years of age and older at the time of their 1984 SOA interview. The LSOA followed the cohort of older persons through three follow-up interviews conducted in 1986, 1988, and 1990.

Second Supplement on Aging (SOA II) 1994-1996

The SOA II replicated the first SOA roughly 10 years later with a new cohort of persons 70 years of age and older to determine whether there were changes in the level of disability among older persons between 1984 and the mid-1990s.

Second Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA II) 1994-1996

The LSOA II, a prospective study with a nationally representative sample from the SOA II, followed a cohort of older persons through two follow-up interviews, conducted in 1997-1998 and 1999-2000, to determine whether there had been changes in disability and impairment among older persons between the 1980s and 1990s.

Disability

National Health Interview Survey on Disability (NHIS-D) 1994-1995

The NHIS-D was conducted to meet overlapping data needs of four DHHS offices to provide a useful set of measures while maintaining a balance between the social, administrative, and medical considerations involved in disability measurement. The NHIS-D was not limited to one definition of disability; therefore, it allowed analysts from varying programs to combine data items in different ways to meet specific agency or program needs.

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

National Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES) 1982-1984

The HHANES was a one-time health examination survey focused on three major subgroups of the Hispanic population – Mexican Americans in the southwest, Cubans in Miami (Dade County), Florida, and Puerto Ricans in the New York City area. Hispanics were included in past health and nutrition examinations, but not in sufficient numbers to produce estimates of the health of Hispanics in general, or specific data for subgroups.

NHANES Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (NHEFS) 1982-1984; 1986, 1987, 1992

The NHEFS was designed to investigate the relationship between clinical, nutritional, and behavioral factors assessed in the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1971-1975), and subsequent morbidity, mortality, and hospital utilization, as well as changes in risk factors, functional limitation, and institutionalization.

Provider Surveys

National Survey of Ambulatory Surgery (NSAS) 1994-1996; 2006

The NSAS provided the only national data on ambulatory surgical care in hospital-based and freestanding ambulatory surgery centers. Efforts are now underway to include ambulatory surgery centers in the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) 1965-2008

The NHDS was a national probability survey designed to meet the need for information on characteristics of inpatients discharged from non-Federal short-stay hospitals in the United States.

National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS) 1973-74, 1977, 1985, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2004

The NNHS was a continuing series of national sample surveys of nursing homes, their residents, and their staff. Although each of these surveys emphasized different topics, they all provided some common basic information about nursing homes, their residents, and staff. All nursing homes included in this survey had at least three beds and were either certified (by Medicare or Medicaid) or had a state license to operate as a nursing home.

National Nursing Assistant Survey (NNAS) 2004

The NNAS was the first national study of nursing assistants working in nursing facilities in the U.S. The survey looked at the important role of nursing assistance in providing long-term care services for the growing elderly and chronically ill population, and provided new information needed to recruit, retain, and expand the paraprofessional long-term care workforce.

National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS) 1992-1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2007

The 2007 NHHCS was one in a continuing series of nationally representative sample surveys of U.S. home health and hospice agencies. It is designed to provide descriptive information on home health and hospice agencies, their staffs, their services, and their patients.

National Home Health Aide Survey (NHHAS) 2007

The NHHAS was the first national probability survey of home health aides, designed to provide national estimates of home health aides employed by agencies that provide home health and/or hospice care. The survey was conducted as a supplement to the 2007 National Home and Hospice Care Survey.

National Health Provider Inventory (NHPI) 1991

The NHPI is a comprehensive national listing of health care facilities, including nursing homes, home health agencies, hospices, and licensed residential care facilities. Data in the inventory include information on the services, location, staff, and other characteristics of the facilities and provides a sampling frame of facilities for other health care provider surveys.

Vital Records

National Mortality Follow-back Survey (NMFS) 1993

The NMFS was conducted using a sample of U.S. residents who died in a given year to supplement the death certificate with information from a person familiar with the decedent's life history. The information, sometimes enhanced by administrative records, provided a unique opportunity to study the etiology of disease, demographic trends in mortality, and other health issues.

National Maternal and Infant Health Survey (NMIHS) 1988; 1991

The NMIHS collected data needed by Federal, State, and private researchers to study factors related to poor pregnancy outcomes, including low birthweight, stillbirth, infant illness, and infant death. The survey expanded on information available for birth, fetal death, and infant death vital records and was the first national survey that included data on the three pregnancy outcomes simultaneously. A longitudinal follow-up study was conducted in 1991 to obtain additional information about respondents from the 1988 survey.

Insurance

National Employer Health Insurance Survey (NEHIS) 1994 [PDF - 80 KB]

The NEHIS was the first federally sponsored survey designed to produce state estimates of employer-sponsored health insurance. The objective was to measure state and national levels of health insurance spending by employers; to provide baseline data at the state and national levels for monitoring trends in the employment-based health insurance system; and to provide data for prospective policy analysis of the effects of health care reform.

State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey

National Survey of Early Childhood Health (NSECH) 2000

Questions on the survey focused on the delivery of pediatric care to families with children under 3 years of age and the promotion of young children’s health by families in their homes.

National Asthma Survey (NAS) 2003

The NAS examined the health, socioeconomic, behavioral, and environmental predictors that relate to better control of asthma. The study explored the content of care and health care expenditures of persons with asthma.

Survey of Adult Transition and Health (SATH) 2007

The NSATH was a nationwide survey looking a the health of young people who were 19 to 23 years old in 2007, whose parents were originally interviewed in 2001 in a previous SLAITS health survey when the subjects were 14 to 17 years old. The goal of the follow-up survey was to examine their current health care needs and transition from pediatric health care providers to adult health care providers.