Health Care Contact

Starting in 1997 the National Health Interview Survey collected information on health care contacts with doctors and other health care professionals using the following questions:

"During the past 12 months, how many times have you gone to a hospital emergency room about your own health?"

"During the past 12 months, did you receive care at home from a nurse or other health care professional? What was the total number of home visits received?"

"During the past 12 months, how many times have you seen a doctor or other health care professional about your own health at a doctor's office, a clinic, or some other place? Do not include times you were hospitalized overnight, visits to hospital emergency rooms, home visits, or telephone calls."

Beginning in 2000 this question was amended to also exclude dental visits.

For each question respondents were shown a flashcard with response categories of 0, 1, 2-3, 4-9, 10-12, or 13 or more visits in 1997-99. Starting in 2000 response categories were expanded to: 0, 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16 or more. Analyses of the percent of persons with health care visits were tabulated as follows: For tabulation of the 1997-99 data, responses of 2-3 were recoded to 2 and responses of 4-9 were recoded to 6. Starting in 2000 tabulation of responses of 2-3 were recoded to 2 and other responses were recoded to the midpoint of the range. A summary measure of health care visits was constructed by adding recoded responses for these questions and categorizing the sum as: none, 1-3, 4-9, or 10 or more health care visits in the past 12 months.

Analyses of the percent of children without a health care visit are based upon the following question:

"During the past 12 months, how many times has ___ seen a doctor or other health care professional about (his/her) health at a doctor's office, a clinic, or some other place? Do not include times ____was hospitalized overnight, visits to hospital emergency rooms, home visits, or telephone calls."

SOURCE: Health, United States

Related Links
Emergency Department Visit
Home Visit

This page last reviewed January 11, 2007