National Center for Health Statistics: Notice of Sample Size Changes, 8092 [E9-3797]

Agencies

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 34 (Monday, February 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 8092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3797]



[[Page 8092]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


National Center for Health Statistics: Notice of Sample Size 
Changes

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of 
Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, has provided statistics on the health 
of the American people for almost 50 years. Two of its preeminent 
surveys, the National Health Interview Survey and the National Health 
and Nutrition Examination Survey are at the half century mark. The 
quality of NCHS' statistical program is of critical concern to the 
Center. Data on sample design, data quality and estimation techniques 
are discussed in detail in NCHS reports and in the proposed data 
collections that are published in the Federal Register and submitted to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.
    The timelines for preparing and submitting requests for OMB 
approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act and for the Federal 
Government's budget process often are not synchronized. Thus it is 
possible that a survey may receive OMB approval for collection of data 
from a certain number of respondents before the necessary resources 
have been appropriated in the federal budget. In all cases, the design 
of the survey allows for changes to the number of respondents without 
jeopardizing the representativeness of the weighted survey results. In 
addition, information on final sample sizes is included with each data 
release.
    Over the last decade NCHS has made a number of program changes to 
stay within existing resources, including changes to survey design and 
sample size, in order to continue carrying out its mission and maintain 
its program quality. Three surveys have had or may have sample size 
reductions take place in FY 2009 and FY 2010. They are the National 
Health Interview Survey, the National Hospital Discharge Survey and the 
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The National Health Interview Survey

    The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is an in-person 
household-based survey. The sample design that was in place from 1995 
through 2005 called for a sample of 39,000 households and 100,000 
individuals. However, in 2002, 2003, and 2004, the sample was reduced 
on average to approximately 36,000 households and approximately 93,000 
individuals.
    The sample design implemented in 2006 called for a permanent one-
eighth reduction in sample size. However, from 2006-2008, existing 
resources necessitated a further reduction in sample size down to about 
29,000 households and about 76,000 individuals (see table below). The 
present plan is to reduce the 2009 NHIS to a sample size of about 
17,000 households and 43,600 sample persons. All attempts will be made 
to reinstate the original sample design; however, final decisions on 
the implementation of the 2010 survey are contingent on available 
resources.

                                       Table 1--Counts of Interviewed Persons and Households in the 2000-2010 NHIS
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                                                                                                                            2008    2009 with  2010 with
                  Year                     2000      2001      2002      2003      2004      2005      2006      2007     expected  a 50% cut  a 50% cut
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No. of persons.........................   100,618   100,761    93,386    92,148    94,460    98,649    75,716    75,764     75,500     43,589     43,589
No. of households......................    38,633    38,932    36,161    35,921    36,579    38,509    29,204    29,266     29,000     16,848     16,848
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The National Hospital Discharge Survey

    The National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) is an establishment-
based survey of inpatients discharged from a nationally-representative 
sample of hospitals. It has been fielded continuously since 1965 with a 
planned redesign for 2010 pending the results of pretesting the new 
design elements. With existing resources, it was decided to reduce the 
sample size by approximately one-half for both hospitals and patients 
for 2008. Present plans are to finish data collection for the 2008 
survey but not to field the 2009 survey. Decisions on the 2010 survey 
and the implementation of the redesign are contingent on available 
resources and the results of the pretest.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

    The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a 
nationally-representative survey involving both an interview and 
physical examination, was first fielded 50 years ago (1959) as the 
National Health Examination Survey. Until 1999 NHANES was fielded 
periodically but is now in the field continuously. Specifically, the 
design now allows for nationally-representative data to be publicly 
released every two years. The current NHANES was designed to be 
collected over the four-year period 2007-2010. Data collection for 2007 
and 2008 has been completed. With existing resources, NCHS is 
maintaining sample size and content for 2009; however capital 
improvements for FY2009 have been reduced. Final decisions on the 
implementation of the 2010 survey are contingent on available 
resources.
    For Questions Contact: Jennifer H. Madans, PhD, Associate Director 
for Science, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, 
Room 7207, Hyattsville, MD 20782, e-mail: JMadans@cdc.gov.

    Dated: February 9, 2009.
James D. Seligman,
Chief Information Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. E9-3797 Filed 2-20-09; 8:45 am]
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