The purpose of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is to obtain information about the amount and distribution of illness, its effects in terms of disability and chronic impairments, and the kinds of health services people receive. Implementation of a redesigned NHIS, consisting of a basic module, a periodic module, and a topical module, began in 1997 (See NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY, 1997 [ICPSR 2954]). This final release of the 2000 NHIS contains the Household, Family, Person, Sample Adult, Sample Child, and Immunization, and Injury and Poison data files from the basic module. The 2000 NHIS also contains the Cancer Control Module (included in the Sample Adult File, Part 4), which corresponds to the Cancer Supplements of 1987 and 1992 and examines such items as diet and nutrition, use of herbal supplements, Hispanic acculturation, genetic testing, and family history. Each record in the Household-Level File (Part 1) of the basic module contains data on the type of living quarters, number of families in the household responding and not responding, and the month and year of the interview for each eligible sampling unit. The Family-Level File (Part 2) is made up of reconstructed variables from the person-level data of the basic module and includes information on sex, age, race, marital status, Hispanic origin, education, veteran status, family income, family size, major activities, health status, activity limits, and employment status, along with industry and occupation. As part of the basic module, the Person-Level File (Part 3) provides information on all family members with respect to health status, limitation of daily activities, cognitive impairment, and health conditions. Also included are data on years at current residence, region variables, height, weight, bed days, doctor visits, hospital stays, and health care access and utilization. A randomly-selected adult in each family was interviewed for the Sample Adult File (Part 4) regarding respiratory conditions, renal conditions, AIDS, joint symptoms, health status, limitation of daily activities, and behaviors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. The Sample Child File (Part 5) provides information from a knowledgeable adult in the household on medical conditions of one child in the household, such as respiratory problems, seizures, allergies, and use of special equipment such as hearing aids, braces, or wheelchairs. Also included are questions regarding child behavior, the use of mental health services, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The Child Immunization File (Part 6) presents information from shot records and supplies vaccination status, along with the number and dates of shots, and information about the chicken pox vaccine. The Injury and Poison Data File (Part 7) contains episode-level data for injuries and poisonings and the Injury and Poison Verbatim File (Part 8) contains verbatim comments for both injuries and poisonings.

The 2000 NHIS data include new race and ethnicity variables along with changes to the Hispanic origin categories that reflect the changing composition of the Hispanic population. The race category of "Asian and Pacific Islander" has now been split into "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander." Users should refer to the codebook for a detailed description of the changes for the 2000 NHIS.The data from the Household-Level File can be merged with any of the other files, and other files can be merged as well. For further information on merging data, consult the codebook.The periodic module is not yet available from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). When released, it will provide more detailed information on topics resulting from the basic module.Per agreement with NCHS, ICPSR distributes the data files and text of the technical documentation in this collection in their original form as prepared by NCHS.The codebooks, data collection instruments, and field representative manual are provided by ICPSR as Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

The NHIS uses a stratified multistage probability design. The sample for the NHIS is redesigned every decade using population data from the most recent decennial census. A redesigned sample was implemented in 1995. This new design includes a greater number of primary sampling units (PSUs) (from 198 in 1994 to 358), and a more complicated nonresponse adjustment based on household screening and oversampling of Black and Hispanic persons, for more reliable estimates of these groups.

Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Household-Level File DS2: Family-Level File DS3: Person-Level File DS4: Sample Adult File, Including Cancer Control Module DS5: Sample Child File DS6: Child Immunization File DS7: Injury and Poison Data File DS8: Injury and Poison Verbatim File

Civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia.