<<Date>>

<<F_RESPNAME>>
<<ADDRESS>>

Dear <<F_RESPNAME>>:

Your home address has been selected to participate in the 2023 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).  In the NHIS, one adult per household is randomly selected to be interviewed about their own health.  In your household, you were selected.

What is the NHIS? 
NHIS is the oldest household health survey in the United States. It is conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Census Bureau is contracted to collect the data. Since 1957, NHIS data has shown whether Americans’ health is getting better or worse and which groups of people are more likely to have health problems. This helps the CDC and other organizations develop programs to keep America healthy. To learn more, see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm.

What to do now
Call 1–800–424–6974, then press 0, ext. 53935 to schedule your appointment at a time that is convenient for you, including days, evenings, and weekends. For most households, the interview will take less than an hour.

Why should I participate?
- Help kids. Public health workers use NHIS data to improve programs that keep kids and families healthy.
- Help adults. Doctors use NHIS data to identify factors that help adults live longer, healthier lives.
- Help veterans. Veterans groups use NHIS data to track veterans’ health and advocate for better programs.
- Help your family members, friends, and community. NHIS data helps researchers understand how we can achieve and sustain the good health we all want for ourselves and for the people we love.

What to expect
1. A U.S. Census Bureau interviewer (with Census Bureau ID) will call you.
2. The interviewer will ask you about your own health. 

You Cannot be Replaced. We want the survey to represent the whole United States. The only way to do this is to randomly select addresses. Only people who live at these addresses participate. We rely on you to make the survey results as accurate as possible. Participation is voluntary, but we cannot replace you with another person.

Confidentiality Ensured. Everything you tell us is confidential. Your household’s information is ONLY used for statistical purposes. We remove all personally identifying information from the data. After that, the data is posted on the NHIS website for future research or to guide public health decisions.

Thank you for participating in this important survey.

Sincerely, 

Brian C. Moyer, Ph.D.
Director, National Center for Health Statistics 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Health Interview Survey
A Healthier America Begins With You

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE
NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY (NHIS)

1.	HOW WAS I CHOSEN FOR THE SURVEY?
Your address was randomly selected from all of the addresses in the United States We do not know who lives at each address. Every month we pick between 5,900 and 6,300 home addresses across the entire country. Everyone has a chance to be picked. This process ensures that the addresses selected represent everyone in the United States. 

2.	WHY NOT INTERVIEW AT THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET? WHY IS MY PARTICIPATION IMPORTANT?
You are important! The people across the street are not the same as you. We cannot swap one address for another. If we did that, the survey results would not accurately describe the entire country.

3.	I AM 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. We also want to know how many people are healthy and what makes them healthy. Everyone’s answers are important.

4.	 WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO ASK ME?
NHIS asks about a lot of things. We will ask about doctor visits, medical conditions, health insurance, and other topics. We also ask questions to understand the health information you give us. For example, we ask about race and income. We will also ask if it is okay to combine your answers with information from other places, like medical records. Most people have no difficulty with any of the questions in NHIS.

You might find some questions to be sensitive. You may choose not to answer any or all questions in this survey and can stop at any time. There are no penalties for refusing to answer questions. However, the information we collect is very important. We need your help to ensure that the survey results are complete and correct. You are getting a special chance to make a difference in the health of the nation.

5.	CAN I COMPLETE THE SURVEY ONLINE?
One of the reasons that NHIS is the U.S. gold standard health survey is that the data are collected by highly trained and skilled U.S. Census Bureau interviewers.  There is no online option for NHIS.

6.  WHO WILL SEE MY ANSWERS?
NCHS collects and uses information you provide in accordance with System of Records Notice 
09-20-0164, Health and Demographic Surveys Conducted in Probability Samples of the United States (https://www.cdc.gov/SORNnotice/09-20-0164.htm). We take your privacy very seriously. We combine your household’s answers with other people’s answers in a way that keeps everyone’s identity secret. As required by federal law, your identity can be seen only by those NCHS employees and specially designated agents (such as the U.S. Census Bureau) who need that information for a specific reason. No one else can see your answers until information that could identify you and/or your family has been removed.

7.	WHAT LAWS PROTECT MY PRIVACY?
Congress authorized the NHIS data collection in Section 306 of the Public Health Service Act (42 United States Code 242k). Strict federal laws prevent us from releasing information that could identify you or your family to anyone else without your permission. These laws are Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242m(d)); the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (44 U.S.C. 3561-3583); and the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a). Every National Center for Health Statistics employee, contractor, research partner, and agent has taken an oath to keep your information private. Anyone who willfully discloses ANY identifiable information about ANYONE in the survey could get a jail term of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.  In addition to the above cited laws, NCHS complies with the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. §§ 151 and 151 note), which protects federal information systems from cybersecurity risks by screening their networks.

8.	WHO PROTECTS THE INTERESTS OF SURVEY PARTICIPANTS?
The Ethics Review Board (ERB) of the NCHS reviews survey content and methods to protect study participants. You may call the ERB to ask about your rights as a participant in this survey. The toll-free number is 1–800–223–8118. You will get an answering service. Please leave a brief message with your name and phone number. Say you are calling about Protocol #2019-09. Your call will be returned promptly.