Health interview survey, 1979

The basic purpose of the Health Interveiw Survey is to obtain information about the amount and distribution of illness, its effects in terms of disability and chronic impairments, and the kind of health services people receive. Household variables in this data collection include type of living quarters, size of family, region, condition list assigned, and type of PSU. Person variables include sex, age, race, marital status, veteran status, education, income, industry and occupation codes, and limits on activity. Also in the Person file are the Home Care Supplement variables which were used to define the need for personal (individual) home care as a result of a chronic health condition, as well as the use of eyeglasses and contact lenses and hearing aids. The Condition, Doctor Visit, and Hospital files contain information on each reported condition, two-week doctor visit, or hospitalization (twelve-month recall), respectively. A Residential Mobility Supplement is also a part of this data collection, and contains variables on the mobility of the respondent - time at an address, number of moves, number of miles moved, reasons for moving, and the number of persons who lived with the respondent.