What is the National Health Interview Survey?
The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is the principal source of information on the health of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States and is one of the major data collection programs of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NHIS data are collected through personal household interviews. For over 50 years, interviewers from the U.S. Census Bureau have visited American homes to ask about a broad range of health topics. Survey results have been instrumental in providing data to track health status, health care access, and progress toward achieving national health objectives. Click here to download a copy of the NHIS brochure [PDF – 712 KB], which provides more information about the survey.
