This chapter discusses five surveys that gather information on multiple health-related topics. The National Health Examination Surveys (NHES) and its continuation, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), have been conducted periodically since 1960 and collect data on a wide variety of health topics through personal interview and direct physical examination. The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) has been conducted annually since 1957 and gathers information through personal interviews with members of a representative sample of American households. The Joint Canada/United States Survey of Health (JCUSH) was conducted in 2002 to 2003, with a random sample of adults age 18 and older in Canada and the United States, was the first survey to collect comprehensive information about health and health care access in both countries. The Longitudinal Studies of Aging (LSOAs) consist of four surveys designed to study longitudinal changes in the health, functional status, living arrangements, and health services of older Americans as they age; the LSOAs were begun in 1984, and data were most recently collected in 2000. The State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey (SLAITS) is a data collection mechanism that has been used to conduct a number of different health-related surveys at the national, state, and local levels since 1997.

The National Health Examination Survey and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

The NHES and the NHANES form part of an ongoing effort to collect data on illness and disability in the United States.