2020 NHIS Questionnaires, Datasets, and Documentation

At a glance

  • Find survey methods, questionnaires, and other resources used to collect 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data.
  • Access important technical information to help you understand, use, and analyze 2020 NHIS data.

Overview

Resources on this page provide information about the 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The COVID-19 pandemic created challenges conducting in-person interviews for the 2020 NHIS, requiring changes to field procedures. These changes resulted in three analytic data files for sample adults:

  • Sample Adult Interview for single-year 2020 estimates and trend analyses
  • Sample Adult Longitudinal for analyses of data from 2019 and 2020 for the same individuals
  • Sample Adult Partial for combining data from multiple years that include 2019 and 2020.

In March 2020, NHIS shifted from in-person to all-phone interviewing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey response rates declined after NHIS made this change.

In July 2020, NHIS resumed in-person interviewing, but continued to conduct the survey, mostly by phone, through December 2020.

Followback interviews

NHIS reduced the original August–December 2020 sample to provide resources for followback interviews.

Between August and December 2020, NHIS completed 10,415 interviews with Sample Adults who had completed the 2019 interview. These followback data augment the other data collected in 2020. Followback data can be used to compare the same people's information from 2019 and 2020.

Sample Child interviews were not completed with the followback sample. This resulted in a smaller-than-usual sample (5,790).

Using our data

Restricted data

Researchers can access restricted NHIS data through the National Center for Health Statistics Research Data Center.

Questionnaires and survey materials

Sample adult interview

Update notices (August 2022)

A revised 2020 NHIS Sample Adult Interview public-use data file is available. Released in September 2022, this file no longer includes:

  • Variable SUNBEDTC_A, from the Preventive Screening (PRV) section
  • Quarter 1 (January–March) data for variables PAIWKLM3M_A and PAIAFFM3M_A, from the Chronic Pain (PAI) section

Data users with the original 2020 NHIS Sample Adult Interview public-use data file should either:

  • Use the revised Sample Adult Interview data, or
  • Do not use deleted information
    • Variable SUNBEDTC_A
    • Quarter 1 data from variables PAIWKLM3M_A and PAIAFFM3M_A

SUNBEDTC_A variable deleted. The SUNBEDTC_A variable has been removed from the 2020 NHIS Sample Adult Interview file. The number of "2 times" responses was unexpectedly high for this variable ("Frequency of indoor tanning device use in the past 12 months"). Due to keying errors, "2 times" responses may include responses for "no use" within the same response category. This is based on recommendations from the question's sponsors (the National Cancer Institute and CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion). This decision is supported by these findings:

  • This single question to assess the frequency of indoor tanning devices in 2020 yielded a different pattern of responses than the pattern observed in the 2015 NHIS' three-part question.
  • The observed high frequency of "2 times" responses for indoor tanning device use occurred among respondents who also reported that they do not go in the sun.
  • External source support that indoor tanning use has declined among U.S. adults.

These concerns surpassed the amount of reasonable differences expected from changes to fielding this topic and timing data collection.

PAIWKLM3M_A and PAIAFFM3M_A variables for Quarter 1 removed. Two questions asked Sample Adults how often pain limited their activities and affected their family and others. These questions were inadvertently fielded during Quarter 1 of the 2020 survey. These variables have been removed from the public-use file and are not available in the Research Data Center's restricted-use file. However, these items were approved by the Office of Management and Budget for inclusion in Quarters 3 and 4 (July–December 2020). Data for these questions collected during Quarters 3 and 4 remain available for public use.

Sample adult longitudinal

Sample adult partial

Sample child interview

Parent-child pair data

Imputed income

Paradata

Find more

Get the latest updates‎

Join the NHIS Listserv for data release announcements and updates from the National Health Interview Survey.
Subscribe now

Earlier NHIS data

Get older NHIS data documentation from the CDC Archive.

Print
Content Source:
National Center for Health Statistics