At a glance
- Learn what restricted data are available from the National Hospital Discharge Survey.
- Researchers interested in using these data must obtain approval through the NCHS Research Data Center.
Overview
The National Center for Health Statistics conducted the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) from 1965-2010. The majority of NHDS variables are publicly available. Researchers are highly encouraged to conduct preliminary analyses using the public use files. However, confidential variables, such as the survey design variables, are restricted and must be accessed through the Research Data Center (RDC).
Researchers interested in using restricted NHDS variables must seek RDC approval. As part of the approval process, researchers are required to submit a proposal to the RDC that includes a data dictionary describing the variables needed for analysis.
Data
Access the NHDS restricted variable codebooks for different time periods: from 1988 to 2010 and from 1977 to 1987.
Please note that restricted data files cannot be merged with public data files, but they do contain all the variables on public use files. Because some variables may have slightly different coding in the public and restricted datasets, it is important to refer to the codebook provided when creating data dictionaries for your proposal.