The Early Release Program of the National Health Interview Survey Jeannine Schiller, M.P.H., Jane F. Gentleman, Ph.D., Eve Powell-Griner, Ph.D. National Center for Health Statistics Centers for Disease Control and Prevention NCHS Data Users Conference July 10, 2006, Washington, D.C.

NHIS overview In-person household interview survey of civilian noninstitutionalized U.S. population Approx. 40,000 households, 100,000 persons, 37,000 sample adults, 15,000 sample children Complex sample design Over-samples blacks, Hispanics, Asians, elderly minorities Demographics, socioeconomic status, limitations, health care utilization, chronic conditions, health behaviors, supplements, etc.

NHIS Early Release (ER) Program NHIS Early Release (ER) Program 2 reports: main and detailed health insurance Releases updated ESTIMATES every 3 months Releases occur 6 months after the end of each quarter of data collection (March, June, September, December) Internet only release First release: April 2001

NHIS ER Program NHIS ER Program Objectives Provide ready and timely access to the most recent NHIS key estimates Monitor health and health care Measure progress toward national public health objectives

Main report 1.Health insurance coverage 2.Usual place to go for medical care 3.Obtaining needed medical care 4.Influenza vaccination 5.Pneumococcal vaccination 6.Obesity 7.Leisure-time physical activity 8.Current smoking 9.Alcohol consumption 10.HIV testing 11.General health status 12.Personal care needs 13.Serious psychological distress 14.Diabetes 15.Asthma Indicators

Main report Format Graph of trend since 1997 Graph of current estimates by age group and gender Graph of current estimates by race/ethnicity Data tables for all graphs Extra graph and/or tables as needed Text highlights

Detailed health insurance report 3 measures of uninsurance Additional estimates of public health plan and private health insurance coverage Uninsurance presented by additional sociodemographic measures Annual state-level estimates for large states

Example #1: Influenza vaccination Questions: “During the past 12 months, have you had a flu shot?” “During the past 12 months, have you had a flu vaccine sprayed in your nose by a doctor or other health professional?”

Figure 4.1. Percentage of adults aged 18 years and over who had received an influenza vaccination during the past 12 months, by age group and quarter: United States, 1997–2005

Table 4.1. Annual percentage of adults aged 50 years and over who had received an influenza vaccination during the past 12 months, by age group and sex: United States, 1997–2005

Figure 4.2. Percentage of persons who had received an influenza vaccination during the past 12 months, by age group and sex: United States, 2005

Figure 4.3. Percentage of adults aged 65 years and over who had received an influenza vaccination during the past 12 months, by race/ethnicity: United States, 2005

Data table for figure 4.1. Percent of adults aged 18 years and over who received influenza vaccine during the past 12 months, by age group and quarter: United States, 1997–2005

Data table for figure 4.2. Percent of adults aged 18 years and over who received influenza vaccine during the past 12 months, by age group and sex: United States, 2005

Data table for figure 4.3. Percent of adults aged 65 years and over who received influenza vaccine during the past 12 months, by race/ethnicity: United States, 2005

Example #2: Current smoking Questions: “Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your entire life?” “Do you now smoke cigarettes every day, some days or not at all?”

Figure 8.1. Prevalence of current smoking among adults aged 18 years and over: United States, 1997–2005

Figure 8.2. Percent distribution of smoking status among adults aged 18 years and over, by sex: United States, January–March 2005

Figure 8.3. Prevalence of current smoking among adults aged 18 years and over, by age group and sex: United States, January–March 2005

Figure 8.4. Age-sex-adjusted prevalence of current smoking among adults aged 18 years and over, by race/ethnicity: United States, January–March 2005

NHIS ER processing Expedited microdata editing standard edits preliminary weights Data analysis crude and adjusted estimates with estimates of variance checking and verification automated updating of figures and tables

NHIS ER processing, cont. Interpretation significance testing contrasts trend analysis updating of text highlights Report dissemination efficient editorial review and Internet release press releases/media alerts

NCHS Web site: Information Showcase NHIS Web site: What’s New listserv Where to find the ER