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For more information on prescription drug data
collection and coding in NHANES, see: http://
www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/nhanes1999-2000/
RXQ_DRUG.htm.
For more information on NHANES III prescription drug
data collection and coding, see: ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/
Health_Statistics/NCHS/nhanes/nhanes3/2A/
pupremed.pdf. (Also see Appendix I, National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey [NHANES].)
Drug abuse—See Appendix II, Illicit drug use.
Education—Several approaches to defining educational
categories are used in Health, United States.
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)—Starting in 1997,
the NHIS questionnaire was changed to ask, ‘‘What is the
highest level of school [person] has completed or the
highest degree received?’’ Responses were used to
categorize adults according to educational credentials
(i.e., no high school diploma or general educational
development high school equivalency diploma [GED];
high school diploma or GED; some college, no bachelor's
degree; bachelor's degree or higher).
Prior to 1997, the education variable in NHIS was
measured by asking, ‘‘What is the highest grade or year
of regular school [person] has ever attended?’’ and ‘‘Did
[person] finish the grade/year?’’ Responses were used to
categorize adults according to years of education
completed (i.e., less than 12, 12, 13–15, or 16 years or
more).
Data from the 1996 and 1997 NHIS were used to
compare distributions of educational attainment for
adults aged 25 and over, using categories based on
educational credentials (1997) and categories based on
years of education completed (1996). A larger
percentage of persons reported some college than
13–15 years of education, and a correspondingly smaller
percentage reported high school diploma or GED than
12 years of education. In 1997, 19% of adults reported no
high school diploma, 31% a high school diploma or GED,
26% some college, and 24% a bachelor's degree or
higher. In 1996, 18% of adults reported less than 12 years
of education, 37% reported 12 years, 20% reported
13–15 years, and 25% reported 16 or more years of
education.
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
(NHANES)—In 1988–1994 (NHANES III) the questionnaire
asked, ‘‘What is the highest grade or year of regular
school [person] has completed?’’ Responses were used
to categorize adults according to educational credentials
(i.e., no high school diploma or general educational
development high school equivalency diploma [GED];
high school diploma or GED; some college, no bachelor's
degree; bachelor's degree or higher). Starting with
1999–2000 data, the questionnaire was changed to ask,
‘‘What is the highest grade or level of school [you
have/(person) has] completed or the highest degree [you
have/(person) has] received?’’ For data on children,
education is based on the level of education completed
by the head of the household. The question asked is,
‘‘What is the highest grade or level of school [you
have/(person) has] completed or the highest degree [you
have/(person) has] received?’’
Emergency department—According to the National
Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, an emergency
department is a hospital facility that is staffed 24 hours a day
and provides unscheduled outpatient services to patients
whose condition requires immediate care. Emergency
services provided under the ‘‘hospital as landlord’’
arrangement were also eligible. An emergency department
was in scope if it was staffed 24 hours a day. If an in-scope
emergency department had an emergency service area that
was open less than 24 hours a day, then that area was
included under the emergency department. If a hospital had
an emergency department that was staffed less than 24
hours a day, that department was considered an outpatient
clinic. (Also see Appendix II, Emergency department or
emergency room visit; Outpatient department.)
Emergency department or emergency room visit—
Starting with the 1997 National Health Interview Survey,
respondents to the Sample Adult questionnaire and the
Sample Child questionnaire (generally a parent) were asked
about the number of visits to hospital emergency rooms
during the past 12 months, including visits that resulted in
hospitalization. In the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical
Care Survey, an emergency department visit is a direct
personal exchange between a patient and a physician or
other health care provider working under the physician's
supervision, for the purpose of seeking care and receiving
personal health services. (Also see Appendix II, Emergency
department; Injury-related visit.)
Employer costs for employee compensation—Employer
costs for employee compensation is a measure of the
average cost, per employee hour worked, to employers for
wages, salaries, and benefits. Wages and salaries are defined
as the hourly straight-time wage rate or, for workers not paid
on an hourly basis, straight-time earnings divided by the
corresponding hours. Straight-time wage and salary rates
are total earnings before payroll deductions, excluding
premium pay for work in addition to the regular work
schedule (e.g., overtime, weekends, and holidays), shift
differentials, and nonproduction bonuses such as
discretionary holiday bonuses and lump-sum payments
provided in lieu of wage increases. Production bonuses,
incentive earnings, commission payments, and cost-of-living
adjustments are included in straight-time wage and salary
rates. Benefits covered are paid leave (paid vacations,
holidays, sick leave, and other leave), supplemental pay
(premium pay for overtime, weekends, or holidays), shift
differentials, nonproduction bonuses, insurance benefits
(life, health, and short- and long-term disability), retirement
Health, United States, 2014 Appendix II. Definitions and Methods 409