Description of 2018 Main NHIS Supplements

Attachment 4e - Description of 2018 Main NHIS Supplements
Asthma: The asthma questions that appear in the Sample Child and Sample Adult Questionnaires for 2013 are
part of the Healthy People 2020 Initiative and are sponsored by the National Center for Environmental Health
(NCEH, CDC) and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI, NIH). Similar questions were on the NHIS
in 2003 and 2008 and provide information on the number of asthma attacks, visits to the emergency room,
number of days of school/work missed, use of inhalers, asthma action plans, and advice from health care
professionals. The asthma supplement also includes questions on work related asthma that appeared on the
2010 NHIS.
Cancer Control: Questions to measure detailed information about colorectal, breast, cervical, and prostate
cancer screening are located in the Sample Adult questionnaire. These questions are sponsored by the National
Cancer Institute (NIH) and Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (CDC).
Disability and Functioning: These questions were developed by the United Nations Washington Group on
Disability Statistics. The questions are asked in national health surveys in multiple countries in order to better
understand and compare functional limitations across many cultures. These data will allow us to compare
levels of social participation (for example, employment, education or family life) between persons with
disabilities and persons without disabilities.
Family Food Security: A ten question set of items on food security sponsored by the United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA) that have been on the survey since 2011 continues for 2018. These questions assess
whether the family has been able to afford adequate food for all adults during the previous 30 days.
ABCS of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention: Beginning in 2012, four questions on aspirin use were
embedded in the Sample Adult Conditions Sections (ACN) to address the CDC ABCS initiative (A=Aspirin use,
B=Blood pressure control, C=Cholesterol control, S=Smoking). In 2015, items on medication use for high blood
pressure and cholesterol were added. The same battery of questions continues for 2018.
Immunizations: A set of questions to measure vaccination coverage for hepatitis, tetanus, shingles (adults),
and influenza immunizations for Sample Adults and Children continue for 2018. They are sponsored by the
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD, CDC) and have appeared on the NHIS
since 1997.
Smokeless Tobacco and E-Cigarettes: Questions pertaining to use of non-cigarette tobacco products and nontobacco electronic nicotine delivery products (also called e-cigarettes) are retained from the discontinued
2015 NHIS Cancer Control Module. They are located in the Adult Behaviors core module. Developed in
collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Office of Smoking and Health (CDC), and the
National Cancer Institute (NIH), the supplemental questions measure the prevalence and frequency of using
non-cigarette products such as cigars, pipes, and smokeless tobacco as well as e-cigarettes.
Children’s Mental Health: Six items to measure mental strengths and difficulties for children age 4-17 continue
in 2018. These items have been on the NHIS in some form since 2001.