IPUMS Health Surveys

IPUMS Health Surveys provide free individual-level survey data for research purposes from two leading sources of self-reported health and health care information for the civilian, noninstitutionalized population (Collection level DOI 10.18128/C070):

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS): Harmonized annual NHIS microdata from 1963 to the present. Data cover such topics as general health status, the distribution of acute and chronic illness, functional limitations, access to and use of medical services, insurance coverage, and health behaviors. Integrated versions of linked mortality information from the National Death Index for adults interviewed between 1986-2014 and sample adults interviewed in 2015 and later years is also publicly available through IPUMS Health Surveys.

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS): Harmonized MEPS data from 1996 to the present. MEPS provides nationally representative, longitudinal data covering health status, medical conditions, health care utilization, and health care expenditures.

IPUMS Health Surveys harmonizes NHIS and MEPS data and allows users to create customized data extracts for analysis. Studies that have used NHIS data have covered a variety of topics, including: educational attainment and mortality, health disparities, health behaviors in minority populations, the relationship between insurance coverage and psychological distress among individuals with chronic disability, and the health and nutritional effects of SNAP enrollment. Studies that have used MEPS data have covered topics such as the impact of insecure income and workers’ health, racial/ethnic differences in health-related quality of life among female breast cancer survivors, and the contributions of racial/ethnic disparities in pharmaceutical use to race/ethnic-specific patterns in severe mental distress. For a more complete list of publications, please see the IPUMS bibliography.

Principal Investigators and senior personnel:

• Lynn Blewett
• Julia Rivera Drew

Supported by:

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute for Child Health and Human Development
• SHADAC
• Stat/Transfer
• University of Minnesota

IPUMS MEPS Versions

IPUMS NHIS versions