Additions to NHIS Core

Attachment 2f - Additions to NHIS Core
English Proficiency: As required by Section 4302 of the Affordable Care Act (see Attachment 1), a
question that addresses English proficiency was added to the Core NHIS in 2013. This item continues
for 2017:
Question Text:
How well {fill: do you/does NAME} speak English? Would you say…
*Read categories below.
1 Very well
2 Well
3 Not well
4 Not at all
7 Refused
9 Don’t know
Universe Text: All family members age 5+ years
Binge Drinking: A question on binge drinking added to the NHIS Core Module in 2014 for Sample
Adults was modified for 2015 and continues in this modified form for 2017. The modification to the
2014 question, which had asked about alcohol consumption in a two-hour time period, changed the
time frame for alcohol consumption from a two hour window to “an occasion.” This change made the
NHIS question more similar to binge drinking questions on CDC and other federal and state health
surveys.
Adult Select Items: This module, first included on the NHIS in 2013, continues for 2017. It contains
questions to ascertain respondents’ sexual orientation, embedded alongside questions about their
neighborhood, computer use, sleep patterns, and mental health. The sexual orientation questions
were developed to fill the gap in nationally representative data available on health disparities that
involve the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) populations, which resulted in many Healthy People 2010
objectives going unmeasured. The NHIS sexual orientation questions allow assessment and monitoring
of the health status, health behaviors, and health care utilization of LGB persons.
Child Health Status: In 2016, a small number of follow-up questions were added to the core questions
asking about the Sample Child’s lifetime diagnoses for autism, intellectual disability, and
ADD/ADHD. The added follow-up questions ask if the child currently has the condition.
Methodological projects: Using the sample of respondents not set aside for MEPS, NHIS respondents
may be included (along with members of commercial survey panels) as participants in methodological
and cognitive testing activities in 2017. These small-scale assessment projects will build on and
integrate the findings from previous NHIS follow-back surveys and special methodological projects.
Aimed at informing the 2018 questionnaire redesign, the planned series of short, web and/or mail
assessments would test new and/or updated questionnaire items, evaluate the impact of different
categorical response option formats on answer choices, and measure respondent comprehension of
health care-related terms and concepts in various contexts.