NHIS-D Studies

Studies on Persons with Developmental Disabilities in the 1994-1995
Disability Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey
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About The National Health Interview Survey

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is a household survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census annually since 1957. The NHIS focuses on the civilian, non-institutionalized population in the United States. Each year the NHIS randomly samples approximately 46,000 households with 116,000 members from 201 primary sampling units nationally. In 1994 and 1995, a special two-year Disability Supplement was added to the NHIS to gather nationally representative data on the characteristics, service use, needs, circumstances and experiences of non-institutionalized people with disabilities in the United States.

The NHIS-D was administered in two stages. In an initial visit to each sampled household, the core NHIS interview and the Phase I Disability Supplement was completed for all members in the selected households. During this initial interview, questions were answered by any available adult in the household who was knowledgeable about the health of other household members. In the second phase, interviewers returned to households that included members with disabilities. The Disability Supplement - Phase 2, was conducted several months after the Core and Phase 1 interviews. Interviews were usually face-to-face but sometimes were conducted over the telephone. When possible, the individual with the disability completed the Phase 2 interviews; proxy interviewers were used for approximately 20% of adults and most of the children. The 1994/1995 NHIS and Disability Supplements covered a wide range of topics clustered into the categories described in the table below.

Major Topical Areas of the National Health Interview Survey on Disabilities

NHIS Core Survey Topics
Disability Supplement
Phase I Topics
Disability Follow-Back Survey
(NHIS Phase II) Topics
  • Housing arrangements and household composition.
  • Demographics (race, ethnicity, family income, education).
  • Health and medical information (doctor visits, hospital visits, health indicators, conditions).
  • Abilities and limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs; getting around inside the home, bathing, dressing, eating, and toileting).
  • Abilities and limitations in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs; going outside the home, keeping track of money or bills, preparing meals, doing light housework, and using the telephone).
  • Limitations or specific conditions among household members, service needs and access, and a wide range of related information.
  • Disability (sensory, communication and mobility limitations; specific conditions such as Down syndrome and mental retardation; activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living; functional limitations; mental health; services and benefits; special health needs of children, early child development; education; relationship to respondent; perceived disability; health care for specific conditions).
  • Immunizations.
  • Family resources (access to care, health care coverage, private plan and coverage, income and assets).
  • Year 2000 objectives (environmental health, tobacco, occupational health and safety, heart disease and stroke, clinical preventative services, family, firearm safety) Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) knowledge and attitudes.
  • Work, vocational rehabilitation or school experiences.
  • Services used (home care services, transportation, work, child care, medical services, assistive devices, educational services, other services, coordination of services).
  • Assistance with key activities.
  • Participation in social activities.
  • Mental health services and needs.
  • Physical activity limitations.
  • Personal adjustment skills.
  • Family structure and relationships.
  • Impact on the family.
  • Health insurance.
  • Housing and long-term care services.
  • Transportation.
  • Self-direction.

This research is funded by The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), U.S. Department of Education, through a Cooperative Agreement (No. H133A60051) with The Center on Emergent Disability, University of Illinois at Chicago; through a NIDRR Field-Initiated Grant (No. H133G80082) to The Research and Training Center on Community Living at the University of Minnesota; and through support of the RISP project provided by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (Grant No. 90DN0028/01). Funding for this publication is provided through a NIDRR Cooperative Agreement (No. H133B980047) with the Research and Training Center on Community Living, University of Minnesota.