The National Health Interview Survey

Overview

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is the principal source of information on the health of the population of the United States. The National Health Survey Act of 1956, “…established, within the Public Health Service, the U.S. National Health Survey to launch a program to produce statistics on disease, injury, impairment, disability, and related topics on a uniform basis for the Nation” (National Center for Health Statistics 1965). One part of this program was the NHIS, initiated in 1957 as a continuous sampling and interviewing of households. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has conducted the survey since 1960. NHIS data are used to monitor trends in illness and disability and to track progress toward achieving national health objectives. NHIS data are used by a variety of federal, local, and non-governmental agencies and organizations, and public health researchers, to conduct analyses on a variety of topics, including monitoring trends in illness...