National health interview survey, 1986

The basic 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. Household variables in this data collection include type of living quarters, size of family, number of families in household, and geographic region. Person variables include sex, age, race, marital status, veteran status, education, income, industry and occupation codes, and limits on activity. The Condition, Doctor Visit, and Hospital files contain information on each reported condition, two-week doctor visit, or hospitalization (twelve-month recall), respectively. Respondents for the Functional Limitations Supplement were persons age 65 and older. Questions concerned degree of difficulty in performing activities of daily living. For the Longest Job Worked Supplement, respondents were persons age 25 or older who had worked. Information obtained in this supplement determines the effects of a person's job on his or her health. Respondents for the Vitamin/Mineral Intake Supplement were sampled from those age 2-6 and those 18 or older.