NCHS Home | Products Home | Conference Materials Data Warehouse | Electronic Announcements | Electronic Products Journal Articles | Reports | Working Papers | Ordering Information Training Opportunities/Materials | CDC/NCHS Privacy Policy Notice Accessibility | Search NCHS | Contact us

National Nursing Home Survey: Next-of-Kin Component and Followup (NNHSF) Public-Use Data Files

Survey description
Data file description
List of data file variables at a glance
Data file technical characteristics
Geographic coverage
Data availability
Related reports
Contact

Survey description
The Next-of-Kin (NOK) Component is one of the six components of the 1985 National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS). It was designed to collect information on factors affecting patterns of nursing home and health care facility utilization by supplementing the current and discharged resident components of the study. The NOK was used to obtain information that was not readily available from patient records or from household sources.

Unlike the other components of the 1985 NNHS, the NOK Component used a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) system. Interviewing occurred between October 1985 and October 1986. NOK interviews were completed for 9,077 subjects. If the subject could not participate, interviews with proxy respondents (primarily, next of kin) were conducted. Administrators or other facility personnel were contacted for a few subjects who were in facilities and for whom no next of kin could be located. The National Nursing Home Survey Follow-up (NNHSF) is a longitudinal study that follows the cohort of current residents and discharged residents sampled from the 1985 NNHS. The NNHSF extends the period of observation of these utilization patterns by approximately 5 years after the baseline nursing home interview. The NNHSF was conducted in three waves. Wave I was conducted between August and December 1987, Wave II was conducted between July and November 1988, and Wave III was conducted between February and April 1990.

The same questionnaire and CATI system were used for all waves. Respondents were asked about the subject's vital status, living arrangements, nursing home stays, hospital stays, and sources of payment for stays occurring between each wave interview. In addition, seven questions concerning the disposition of the subject's home appear at the end of the Wave III interview. If the subject could not participate, interviews with proxy respondents (primarily, next of kin) were conducted. For those subjects in facilities, administrators or other facility personnel were interviewed. Approximately 6,600 subjects were eligible for interviewing at Wave I, 4,000 subjects were eligible for interviewing at Wave II, and 3,100 subjects were eligible for interviewing at Wave III.

Data file description
The data collected from the NOK Component and the NNHSF are stored on five separate files:

Next-of-Kin Component of the 1985 National Nursing Home Survey

National Nursing Home Survey Follow-up: Wave I, 1987

National Nursing Home Survey Follow-up: Wave II, 1988

National Nursing Home Survey Follow-up: Wave III, 1990

All files include a patient identification number common across files to allow linkage between files. The data have been edited to ensure consistency and to adjust for non-response.

List of data file variables at a glance

See section on "Survey description."

Data file technical characteristics

Geographic coverage
Both the NOK Component and the NNHSF cover the conterminous United States.

Data availability

Public-Use Datasets

1985 National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS)

1985 National Nursing Home Survey Follow-Up (NNHSF)

1985 NNHS & NNHSF Data Linkage

Mortality (1985-2002)

Social Security Administration Data (1962-2003)
 

Related reports

A detailed description of the design and operation of the NNHSF is availability in Vital and Health Statistics, Series 1, No. 30.

Contact
Ilene Gottfried or Mary Ann Bush
Longitudinal Studies Branch
Division of Epidemiology
Office of Analysis, Epidemiology, and Health Promotion
National Center for Health Statistics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
3311 Toledo Road, Room 6226
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782
(301) 458-4242 or 4130 (Bush)

This page last reviewed September 09, 2008