Justification for Change Updated

National Health Interview Survey

Nonsubstantive Change to

OMB No. 0920-0214

(Expires 08/31/2014)

Contact:

Project Officer: Marcie Cynamon

Division of Health Interview Statistics

National Center for Health Statistics

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Department of Health and Human Services

3311 Toledo Road

Hyattsville, MD 20782

Telephone: 301-458-4174

Email: mlc6@cdc.gov

October 18, 2011

National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)

A1. Circumstances making the collection of information necessary

This request is for a nonsubstantive change to an approved data collection (OMB No. 0920-0214) (expires 08/31/2014), the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). On August 25, 2011, OMB approved the NHIS through the 2013 data collection, including the estimated sample size and estimated annual burden. The approved supporting statement included information on potential topics for coming years and requested permission to modify selected sections of the 2012 and 2013 surveys through a nonsubstantive change clearance request. Questions/modules cycle in and out of the survey on a periodic basis to collect new and/or updated information as needed. There is no anticipated change in burden.

Changes

This change request seeks approval to:

• cycle out questions on fitness center use fielded in 2011; and to

• cycle in for 2012 questions on communication disorders, child balance, ABCS of heart disease and stroke prevention, COPD, tobacco, flu vaccination coverage during pregnancy, internet and email usage, and complementary medicine.

The new questions for the 2012 NHIS are in Attachment 1.

A2. Purpose and use of information collection

Adult and Child Communication Disorders (Voice, Swallowing, Speech, and Language): 

The NHIS has had supplements on communication disorders in previous years, the latest being a hearing supplement in 2007. With regard to voice, speech, and language, the NHIS core contains questions for children on stuttering and having a general speech problem. The core also asks about many health conditions which may cause a voice, speech, or language problem, including deafness, stroke, and birth defects. The proposed new questions more directly link health problems or conditions to communication disorders. Also, in the current child and adult core ‘access to health’ section, there are questions about whether a child has seen a speech pathologist in the past 12 months. The 2012 items expand on these general questions, asking about the types of services received and whether these services improved quality of life.

The child and adult questions on voice, swallowing, speech and language problems are part of the Healthy People 2020 Objectives, under the topic of Hearing and other Sensory and Communication Disorders.  These questions are sponsored by the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD, NIH).  

 

Child Balance:  The NHIS had already received approval to conduct the 2008 Balance Supplement for adults. Questions on child balance were developed from those questions and are substantively the same or slightly modified for children. The questions include items on types of balance or dizziness problems, diagnoses of balance problems, and health care access and utilization.

The child balance supplement questions have been added to monitor the Healthy People 2020 Objective to: Increase the proportion of children who have tried recommended methods for treating their balance or dizziness problems.  These questions are sponsored by the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD, NIH).  

 

ABCS of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention:  In the OMB approval of August 2011, NHIS indicated that some supplementary questions would be added to address heart disease and stroke prevention. Four questions on aspirin use have been added to address the CDC ABCS initiative to focus on appropriate aspirin therapy (the "A" in ABCS).  The other focus areas - Blood pressure control, Cholesterol control, and Smoking cessation are already addressed in the NHIS core. 

These questions were developed as part of CDC’s A Million Hearts initiative to prevent heart disease and stroke.

 

COPD:  One new question on COPD in the core NHIS was developed from existing questions in the NHIS Sample Adult Module (chronic bronchitis and emphysema) because there was no existing direct measure of COPD.

This question will be a permanent core question from 2012 onward.  In prior years, the NHIS collected data on chronic bronchitis and emphysema (items from which a measure of COPD can be developed) but did not address Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease directly.  In future years, the questions on chronic bronchitis and emphysema may be dropped. 

 

Tobacco:  The NHIS always asks questions on Tobacco use. These new questions were developed from the 2005 and 2010 NHIS Cancer Control Modules. Specifically, items on the utilization of smoked tobacco products other than cigarettes and smokeless products such as snuff and chewing tobacco were added.

These questions are sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are being added to the NHIS to address annual prevalence of (1) smokeless tobacco use, (2) smoked tobacco other than cigarettes, and (3) quitting all tobacco.

 

Pregnancy Flu Questions:  The NHIS annually collects general information on receipt of flu shots in the general population. Three questions are being added, asking women aged 18-49 about pregnancy anytime during the influenza vaccination period (August through March) and the timing of vaccination relative to the course of their pregnancy.

These questions, sponsored by the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD, CDC), aim to better monitor the influenza vaccination coverage among pregnant women and to address Healthy People 2020 Objectives

 

Internet and Email Usage:  The NHIS which was approved in August 2011 included approval to obtain information on recontacting respondents, including through address and telephone numbers. A small set of questions is being added to identify Internet capability of Sample Adult respondents and to obtain their email addresses for potential recontact.

 

Child and Adult Complementary Medicine (CAM):  CAM was among the future topics mentioned in the August 2011 clearance. These questions were developed from prior supplements on the NHIS in 2002 and 2007. Added condition questions in the Sample Child and Sample Adult Modules are similar to items added in both previous rotations of the CAM supplement. These added questions reference health conditions experienced in the past 12 months or during a lifetime and are used in the CAM Module to collect data on conditions for which CAM treatments or therapies are used.

The CAM modules for child and adult are nearly identical and consist of questions that ask about the use of 18 general types of therapies (chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation, massage, acupuncture, hypnosis, biofeedback, naturopathy, energy healing therapy, ayurveda, chelation therapy, craniosacral therapy, traditional healers, vitamins, herbs and other non-vitamins supplements, homeopathy, mind-body therapies, exercise techniques, special diets, and movement therapies). The therapies are very similar to those asked in the 2002 and 2007 NHIS CAM supplement; minor changes include different herbs included on the flashcard (due to frequency of use changing through the years) and slightly different/more specific types of CAM use within therapies such as mind-body techniques that ask about different kinds of meditation.

These supplements are sponsored by the National Center for Alternative and Complementary Medicine (NCCAM, NIH). 

A8. Consultation Outside the Agency

No consultation beyond those listed in previous submissions.

Attachments

Attachment 1. Supplements--2012 New Questions

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