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NHATS at GSA9/10/2019

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) will host a pre-conference workshop at the 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) in Austin, Texas. The workshop, titled “Using the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) in Analyses of Disability and Aging” is scheduled for Wednesday, November 13 from 12:30 to 4:30 PM. This workshop will provide an overview of the study design and content of NHATS and the National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) and will cover topics including disability and caregiving, as well as opportunities for data linkages.

We also encourage meeting attendees to visit the NHATS booth in the exhibit hall.

Please feel free to share this announcement with any colleagues who may be interested. We hope to see you in Austin!

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New Geographic Data Available from NHATS3/11/2019

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) has released new geographic data files. Restricted geographic data for NHATS sample persons (SPs) and their spouse/partners, children, and household members are now available through round 7. A restricted file with Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) for rounds 1 through 7 is available for qualified researchers. A public use file indicating whether a sample person was residing in a metropolitan or non-metropolitan county (based on the RUCC) at the time of interview or during the last month of life also has been updated through round 7. Additionally, restricted files linking the NHATS SP to the Dartmouth Health Atlas’s Hospital Referral Region (HRR) have been updated through round 6.

More information on obtaining NHATS files can be found at https://www.nhatsdata.org.

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New Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional NSOC Data Released2/18/2019

This data release includes a set of longitudinal data files that include re-interviews of NSOC II (2015) caregivers.

This data release also includes final cross-sectional files of family and unpaid helpers identified in the round 7 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). The files consist of caregivers active in the last month or year, including last month of life caregivers.

NSOC data are available under our sensitive data procedures; the application can be accessed at https://www.nhatsdata.org/Home/ResDataFiles. Documentation, including a user guide, annotated data collection instruments, and a crosswalk between the instruments and the codebook can be found at https://www.nhats.org/researcher/nsoc.

An NSOC III time diary file will be released at a later date.

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New NSOC and NHATS Data Released12/5/2018

We are pleased to announce that new data from the National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) have been released. This beta data release consists of a cross-sectional file of informal helpers identified in the round 7 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). New in this round of NSOC, caregivers to NHATS respondents who died are interviewed about end of life caregiving.

We also are re-releasing the NSOC II (2015) file with three updates:

  • recoding and replacing the race and ethnicity variables
  • revisions to 3 derived variables related to children of NSOC respondents (any living children; number of living children; number of living children under age 18).
  • revised weights based on removing a small number of ineligible cases from control totals

NSOC data are available under our sensitive data procedures; the application can be accessed at https://www.nhatsdata.org/Home/ResDataFiles. Documentation, including a user guide, annotated data collection instruments, and a crosswalk between the instruments and the codebook can be found at https://www.nhats.org/researcher/nsoc.

Additional NSOC files, including a longitudinal file following all participants in the 2015 NSOC and a time diary file, will be released at a later date.

A final NHATS Round 7 file is also being released at this time and can be downloaded at https://www.nhatsdata.org.

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2017 Medicare-linked Data Now Available9/18/2018

Medicare-linked restricted files from 2017 are now available. Information on how to apply for access to these data files can be found at http://www.nhatsdata.org.

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NHATS Round 7 Beta Data Released7/31/2018

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) is pleased to announce that Round 7 beta data files are now available at www.nhatsdata.org. Data are available in both SAS and Stata formats. An updated User Guide, round 7 annotated instruments, and a revised crosswalk between the instruments and the codebook can be found on our website https://www.nhats.org/researcher/nhats.

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NHATS Data and Documentation Update2/6/2018

Helper Coding

The variable op#paidhelpr is inconsistently coded for helpers where op#relatnshp is 31 (PAID AIDE/ HOUSEKEEPER/ EMPLOYEE) in the Other Person (OP) file. In rounds 3, 4, and 6 it is coded as inapplicable and in rounds 1, 2, and 5 it is coded as paid. To correct the inconsistency, we recommend recoding op#paidhelpr as follows in rounds 3, 4 and 6 (where #=the round being recoded). Stata: replace op#paidhelpr=1 if op#ishelpr==1 & op#relatnshp==31 & r#dresid!=6 SAS (within Data proc): if op#ishelpr=1 and op#relatnshp= 31 and r#dresid ne 6 then op#paidhelpr=1;

Updated Technical Paper on Making National Estimates Using NHATS

NHATS Technical Paper #17 “Making National Estimates with the National Health and Aging Trends Study” has been updated to reflect recalculated round 5 analytic weights. Two additions to the paper provide approaches to making national estimates for the non-nursing home population and national estimates of caregivers from the National Study of Caregiving (NSOC). The updated paper is located at https://www.nhats.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Making_National_Estimates_in_NHATS_Technical_Paper_2018_0.pdf

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NHATS Releases New Technical Papers2/2/2018

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) has released two new technical papers. Technical Paper #7, Hours of Care in the 2011 & 2012 National Health and Aging Trends Study, provides guidance to users on how to create comparable hours of care variables across rounds of the NHATS. Technical paper #8, Driving and Transportation Measures in the National Health and Aging Trends Study, serves as a guide to transportation-related information in NHATS and approaches to analyzing these data. These technical papers and others can be found at NHATS Technical Papers.

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2016 Medicare-linked Data Now Available12/19/2017

Medicare-linked restricted files from 2016 are now available. Information on how to apply for access to these data files can be found at http://www.nhatsdata.org.

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Metro/Nonmetro Residence Indicators Updated12/18/2017

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) indicator of metro/nonmetro place of residence has been updated to include round 6. All registered NHATS users may download a public use file indicating whether a Sampled Person (SP) was residing in a metropolitan or non-metropolitan county (based on Rural-Urban Continuum Codes) at the time of interview or during the last month of life for those with last month of life interviews. The file is now available for SPs in rounds 1 to 6 and can be downloaded at http://www.nhatsdata.org.

A restricted file with Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) for rounds 1 through 6 is also available for qualified researchers. Information on how to apply for NHATS Restricted data can be found at https://www.nhatsdata.org/Home/ResDataFiles.

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NHATS Releases Metro/Nonmetro Residence Indicator12/18/2017

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) has developed an indicator for metro/nonmetro place of residence available to users registered for the NHATS public files. All registered NHATS users may download a public use file indicating whether a Sampled Person (SP) was residing in a metropolitan or non-metropolitan county (based on Rural-Urban Continuum Codes) at the time of interview or during the last month of life for those with last month of life interviews. The file is available for SPs in rounds 1 to 4 and can be downloaded at http://www.nhatsdata.org.

A restricted file with Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) is available for qualified researchers. This file links the SP's county of residence to the Rural-Urban Continuum Codes as described at https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/rural-urban-continuum-codes/. Information on how to apply for NHATS Restricted data can be found at http://www.nhatsdata.org/ResDataFiles.aspx.

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NHATS Rounds 5 and 6 and NSOC II Files Re-released12/12/2017

Round 5 and Round 6 SP files and the Round 5 NSOC II have been reissued with revised weights that address a miscalculation for a small number of cases added at Round 5 (N=130). Differences in estimates using the original and reissued weights are generally quite small (<0.1; see Memorandum #1 under the Weights Technical Papers). We recommend that users working with Round 5 and 6 and NSOC II download the reissued files. Users should go to www.nhatsdata.org to download the new files.

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2015 Medicare Part D Restricted Data Available10/18/2017

New Medicare Part D Event and Drug Characteristics files are now available for the 2015 NHATS replenishment cohort (continuing sample from the 2011 cohort and new sample added in 2015). Files from the years 2013-2015 are available. Data from the years 2009-2014 also are available for continuing sample from the 2011 cohort.

Information on available data files and how to apply for access can be found here.

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Medicare Part D Restricted Data Available10/18/2017

Medicare Part D Event and Characteristic files have been linked to NHATS. Annual files from the years 2011 - 2014, as well as retrospective data from 2009 and 2010, are now available.

Information on how to apply for access to these restricted data files can be found here.

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NHATS Final Round 6 Data Released9/27/2017

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) is pleased to announce that Round 6 final data files are now available at www.nhatsdata.org. Updated Sample Person (SP), Other Person (OP), and Tracker files are available in both SAS and Stata formats. Updated documentation, including a revised User Guide, a technical paper on round 6 weights, revised crosswalk between the instruments and the codebook, and a crosswalk of changes from the beta to final version, can be found on our website https://www.nhats.org/researcher/nhats.

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Round 6 NHATS Beta Data Released9/27/2017

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) is pleased to announce that a beta version of the Round 6 data files is now available at http://www.nhatsdata.org. Data are available in both SAS and Stata formats. This beta release also includes sensitive data from NHATS. Information on how to apply for sensitive data can be found at http://www.nhatsdata.org/ResDataFiles.aspx.

Updated documentation, including a revised User Guide, technical papers, and a crosswalk between the instruments and the codebook, has been posted on https://www.nhats.org/researcher/nhats.

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2015 Restricted Medicare Data Available2/17/2017

New Medicare data files are now available for the 2015 NHATS replenishment cohort, which includes continuing sample from the 2011 cohort and new sample added in 2015. Files for 2015 and prior years are available.

Information on available data files and how to apply for access can be found here.

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NHATS Releases New Technical Paper12/19/2016

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) has published an updated technical paper. This technical paper provides information on how to standardize NHATS national population estimates to the Medicare frame and Census totals.

These technical papers and others can be found at

http://www.nhats.org/scripts/TechnicalPapers.htm.

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New Data released: Round 5 NHATS and NSOC II12/16/2016

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) is pleased to announce that Round 5 data files from NHATS and National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) II also conducted in Round 5 are now available at http://www.nhatsdata.org. Data are available in both SAS and Stata formats.

In addition to Round 5 public data files, this data release also includes sensitive data from NHATS. Information on how to apply for NHATS Sensitive data and NSOC data can be found at http://www.nhatsdata.org/ResDataFiles.aspx.

Documentation, including User Guides, new technical papers, crosswalks between the instruments and the codebooks, and a crosswalk of changes from the NHATS Round 5 beta release to the final release, can be found on our website http://www.nhats.org.

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New NHATS Technical Papers Released12/2/2016

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) has published four new technical papers. Three reports are being released in conjunction with the Round 5 final data. These technical papers provide information on the Round 5 sample design, income imputation, and the development of the Round 5 survey weights.

A fourth paper offers instructions on how to standardize NHATS population estimates to the Medicare frame and Census totals.

All technical papers can be accessed at https://www.nhats.org/researcher/nhats/methods-documentation.