Table of Contents

Component Description

The Hospital Utilization and Access to Care section (variable name prefix HUQ) provides SP level interview data on self-reported health status and access to health care topics.

Eligible Sample

All survey participants respond to this section. Survey participants aged 1 year and older were asked HUQ020. Only survey participants aged 4 years and older were asked question HUQ090.

Interview Setting and Mode of Administration

The Hospital Utilization and Access to Care questionnaire was done before the physical examination, in the home, using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing-CAPI (interviewer administered) system. Persons 16 years of age and older and emancipated minors were interviewed directly. A proxy provided information for survey participants who were under 16 years of age and for individuals who could not answer the questions themselves.

Quality Assurance & Quality Control

The CAPI system is programmed with built-in consistency checks to reduce data entry errors. CAPI also uses online help screens to assist interviewers in defining key terms used in the questionnaire.

Analytic Notes

HUQ010: This identical question is asked in the Current Health Status section of the Mobile Examination Center (MEC) CAPI Interview questionnaire (HSD010). There is a small difference in administration of the two questions: participants age 12-15 have proxy responses in the household questionnaire but provide self-reported responses for the MEC interview. Many participants of all ages gave different responses to this question in the household compared to the MEC, so analysts should consider which of the two versions of the question to use in analyses.

Question HUQ071 in NHANES 2005-2006 is comparable to 2003-2004 and to question HUD070 in NHANES 2001-2002 and HUQ070 in NHANES 1999-2000.

For NHANES 2001-2002, question HUQ080 allows for all responses to the query on the number of hospitalizations in an acute care facility in the past 12 months, whereas question HUD080 in NHANES 2005-2006, 2003-2004, and 1999-2000 has an upper limit of “6 or more.” Data users will need to recode HUQ080 to make it comparable to HUD080 when comparing the 2001-2002 data to the other years.
The questions on long-term care (HUQ081-HUQ089) were not included in NHANES 2005-2006 or 1999-2000, but are available for NHANES 2001-2002 and 2003-2004.

All other similarly named questions are comparable between the two surveys.

Although these data were collected as part of the household questionnaire, if they are merged with the MEC exam data, exam sample weights should be used for the analyses.

Please refer to the Analytic Guidelines for further details on the use of sample weights and other analytic issues. The Analytic Guidelines are available on the NHANES website.

Codebook and Frequencies

SEQN - Respondent sequence number

Variable Name:
SEQN
SAS Label:
Respondent sequence number
English Text:
Respondent sequence number.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS

HUQ010 - General health condition

Variable Name:
HUQ010
SAS Label:
General health condition
English Text:
{First/Next} I have some general questions about {your/SP's} health. Would you say {your/SP's} health in general is . . .
English Instructions:
CAPI INSTRUCTION: DISPLAY "FIRST" IF SP AGE IS >= 16 YEARS.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Excellent, 3143 3143
2 Very good, 2694 5837
3 Good, 3066 8903
4 Fair, or 1204 10107
5 Poor? 236 10343
7 Refused 0 10343
9 Don't know 5 10348
. Missing 0 10348

HUQ015 - CHECK ITEM

Variable Name:
HUQ015
English Instructions:
CHECK ITEM HUQ.015: IF SP AGE >= 1, CONTINUE. OTHERWISE, GO TO HUQ.030.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS

HUQ020 - Health now compared with 1 year ago

Variable Name:
HUQ020
SAS Label:
Health now compared with 1 year ago
English Text:
Compared with 12 months ago, would you say {your/SP's} health is now . . .
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Better, 1923 1923
2 Worse, or 783 2706
3 About the same? 7109 9815
7 Refused 0 9815
9 Don't know 7 9822
. Missing 526 10348

HUQ030 - Routine place to go for healthcare

Variable Name:
HUQ030
SAS Label:
Routine place to go for healthcare
English Text:
Is there a place that {you/SP} usually {go/goes} when {you are/he/she is} sick or {you/s/he} need{s} advice about {your/his/her} health?
English Instructions:
CAPI INSTRUCTION: IF SP AGE < 12, DISPLAY "YOU" IN THE FOURTH DISPLAY AND DON'T DISPLAY THE "S" IN THE FIFTH DISPLAY.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 9027 9027
2 There is no place 1274 10301 HUQ050
3 There is more than one place 46 10347
7 Refused 0 10347 HUQ050
9 Don't know 1 10348 HUQ050
. Missing 0 10348

HUQ040 - Type place most often go for healthcare

Variable Name:
HUQ040
SAS Label:
Type place most often go for healthcare
English Text:
What kind of place {do you/does SP} go to most often: is it a clinic, doctor's office, emergency room, or some other place?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Clinic or health center 2309 2309
2 Doctor's office or HMO 6304 8613
3 Hospital emergency room 188 8801
4 Hospital outpatient department 170 8971
5 Some other place 99 9070
7 Refused 1 9071
9 Don't know 2 9073
. Missing 1275 10348

HUQ050 - #times receive healthcare over past year

Variable Name:
HUQ050
SAS Label:
#times receive healthcare over past year
English Text:
{During the past 12 months, how/How} many times {have you/has SP} seen a doctor or other health care professional about {your/his/her} health at a doctor's office, a clinic, hospital emergency room, at home or some other place? Do not include times {you were/s/he was} hospitalized overnight.
English Instructions:
CAPI INSTRUCTION: DISPLAY "12 MONTHS" ONLY IF SP'S AGE IS >= 1.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 None 1526 1526
1 1 2117 3643 HUQ071
2 2 to 3 3066 6709 HUQ071
3 4 to 9 2433 9142 HUQ071
4 10 to 12 595 9737 HUQ071
5 13 or more 602 10339 HUQ071
77 Refused 0 10339 HUQ071
99 Don't know 9 10348 HUQ071
. Missing 0 10348

HUQ060 - How long since last healthcare visit

Variable Name:
HUQ060
SAS Label:
How long since last healthcare visit
English Text:
About how long has it been since {you/SP} last saw or talked to a doctor or other health care professional about {your/his/her} health? Include doctors seen while {you were} {he/she was} a patient in a hospital. Has it been . . .
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 6 months or less, 68 68
2 More than 6 months, but not more than 1 year ago, 94 162
3 More than 1 year, but not more than 3 years ago, 930 1092
4 More than 3 years, or 364 1456
5 Never? 67 1523
7 Refused 0 1523
9 Don't know 3 1526
. Missing 8822 10348

HUQ071 - Overnite hospital patient in last year

Variable Name:
HUQ071
SAS Label:
Overnite hospital patient in last year
English Text:
{During the past 12 months, were you/{Was/was} SP} a patient in a hospital overnight? Do not include an overnight stay in the emergency room.
English Instructions:
CAPI INSTRUCTION: DISPLAY "12 MONTHS" ONLY IF SP'S AGE IS >= 1. DISPLAY "WAS SP" WITH LEADING CAPS, IF SP'S AGE IS <1.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 984 984
2 No 9358 10342 HUQ085
7 Refused 0 10342 HUQ085
9 Don't know 6 10348 HUQ085
. Missing 0 10348

HUD080 - #times overnite hospital patient/last yr

Variable Name:
HUD080
SAS Label:
#times overnite hospital patient/last yr
English Text:
How many different times did {you/SP} stay in any hospital overnight or longer {during the past 12 months}?
English Instructions:
CAPI INSTRUCTION: DISPLAY "12 MONTHS" ONLY IF SP'S AGE IS >= 1. ENTER NUMBER.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Hard Edits:
1 to 6
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 to 5 Range of Values 965 965
6 6 times or more 18 983
77777 Refused 0 983
99999 Don't know 1 984
. Missing 9364 10348

HUQ085 - CHECK ITEM

Variable Name:
HUQ085
English Instructions:
BOX 2. CHECK ITEM HUQ.085: IF SP AGE >= 4, CONTINUE. OTHERWISE, GO TO END OF SECTION.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS

HUQ090 - Seen mental health professional/past yr

Variable Name:
HUQ090
SAS Label:
Seen mental health professional/past yr
English Text:
During the past 12 months, that is since {DISPLAY CURRENT MONTH} of {DISPLAY LAST YEAR}, {have you/has SP} seen or talked to a mental health professional such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse or clinical social worker about {your/his/her} health?
Target:
Both males and females 4 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 652 652
2 No 8229 8881
7 Refused 1 8882
9 Don't know 7 8889
. Missing 1459 10348