Att 5 - Advance Letter

Attachment 5a Advance Letter
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
HIS-600(L) ATLANTA
(11-2011)

National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road
Hyattsville, MD 20782

From the Director of the United States National Center for Health Statistics
I’m Ed Sondik and I head the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), part of CDC (the United States
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). In partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, my agency is
conducting a major survey about the nation’s health and we need your help.
In the next few days, a Census Bureau interviewer will ask you some questions to see if you are eligible for
the National Health Interview Survey. For your protection, the interviewer will show you an official
identification card.
Please know that everything you tell us will be kept strictly private. Your answers are used only for health
research, and to help understand and solve today’s health problems and anticipate future health issues.
Quality health information is necessary to make good decisions and sound policies. In this way, taking part
in the survey indirectly benefits all Americans.
Strict federal laws protect your information. Question 6 on the back of this letter describes these laws and
who may see your personal information.
I hope you will want to take part in the survey—it is your choice. No penalties or loss of benefits will come
from refusing.
Some interviews take about five minutes. Most interviews will take about an hour to do all parts, depending
on the size and health of your family. You may choose not to answer any question and, of course, you can
stop at any time. Health and health care information from other records may be combined with your survey
answers. These data also will be kept strictly private. You also may be given the choice to take part in other
surveys sponsored by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Please contact the Census Bureau, toll-free, at 1-800-424-6974 if you have questions about the survey or to
schedule an interview. About a week after the interview, some households will be asked a few extra
questions for quality purposes.
You can learn more about the survey at our website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm
I know your time and privacy are valuable so I am very grateful for your help. Thank you for your
cooperation.

Sincerely,

Edward J. Sondik, Ph.D.
Director, National Center for Health Statistics

REGIONAL OFFICE
US CENSUS BUREAU
101 MARIETTA ST NW STE 3200
ATLANTA GA 30303-2711
1-800-424-6974

National Health Interview Survey
–Since 1957–

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE
NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY (NHIS)
1. HOW WAS I CHOSEN FOR THE SURVEY?
Every month we pick between 5,300 and 5,500 home addresses across the entire United States. We pick
addresses using scientific methods so they represent all communities in the U.S.
2. WHY NOT INTERVIEW AT THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET? WHY IS MY
PARTICIPATION IMPORTANT?
It is important that the people living at the address selected be in the survey. Due to the scientific methods used
to pick addresses, we cannot exchange one address for another. If we did that, the survey results would not
describe the entire country.
3. I’M NOT SICK–WHY SHOULD I TAKE PART IN A HEALTH SURVEY?
This is a survey of the Nation’s health. We want to know how many people are sick and why they are sick, but it
is also important to know how many people are healthy and why they are healthy. Everyone’s answers are
important.
4. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO ASK ME?
The NHIS covers a wide range of topics like doctor visits, medical conditions, health insurance, physical activity,
and injuries. We also ask questions that help us better understand the health information you give us. For
example, we ask about race, income, and permission to combine your answers with information from other
places, like medical records. Most people have no difficulty with any of the questions in the NHIS. However,
others find some questions to be sensitive. You do not have to answer any questions you don’t want to.
5. WHY DO YOU ASK ABOUT IMMUNIZATIONS?
Immunizations help prevent infectious disease, disability, and death. To get the most accurate picture of
children’s immunization levels, we may ask you for permission to contact your child’s immunization providers.
This is only for young children and teenagers, and we ask their providers only for immunization dates and
doses. Like all the data we collect, this information is treated as confidential.
6. WHO WILL SEE MY ANSWERS?
We take your privacy very seriously. Only those NCHS employees, our specially designated agents including
the U.S. Census Bureau, and our full research partners who must use your personal information for a specific
reason can see your answers. Everyone else who uses your data can do so only after all information that could
identify you and your family is removed. The answers you give us are used for statistical research only. This
means that your answers will be combined with those given by other people in a way that protects everyone’s
identity.
Strict laws prevent us from releasing information that could identify you or your family to anyone else without
your consent. Congress authorized the NHIS data collection in Section 306 of the Public Health Service Act (42
United States Code 242k). The federal laws that require all information we collect to be held in strict confidence
are Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service Act [42 United States Code 242m (d)] and the Confidential
Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (PL 107-347). If any federal employee, contractor, or agent
gives out confidential information not authorized by law, he or she can be fired, fined and/or imprisoned.
7. WHO LOOKS OUT FOR THE INTERESTS OF SURVEY PARTICIPANTS?
Every year, the Research Ethics Review Board (ERB) of the National Center for Health Statistics reviews survey
content and methods to protect study participants. You may call the ERB if you want to ask about your rights as
a participant in this research study. The toll-free number is 1-800-223-8118. Please leave a brief message with
your name and phone number. Say you are calling about Protocol # 2009-16. Your call will be returned
promptly.

HIS-600(L) (11-2011)
CS226038