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Survey researchers believe that self reports, in general, are more accurate than reports obtained by proxy. This paper focuses on the reassessment of previous self/proxy comparisons and presents findings from a telephone adaptation of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) designed to investigate response error associated with self and proxy reports. Unlike previous studies in which the type of report is confounded with characteristics of the population home at the time of the interview, the design of this study (random allocation to self or proxy reports. Unlike comparison of reports from similar populations. The results show that when self response is limited to a randomly selected respondent, the self respondents report fewer health events for themselves versus for others in their household. (Am J Public Health 1985; 75:639-644.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyzes the potential of using measures of social function as health indicators in dental research. It discusses existing methodologies and presents findings from a cross section of studies that adopt a social function perspective in the investigation of oral health status. While the literature in this area is small, much of the research concerns disability days associated with dental problems, The United States National Health interview Survey reported in 1981 than 4.87 million dental condition caused 17.7 million days of restricted activity. 6.73 million days of bed disability, and 7.05 million days of work loss. Other reports suggest that these data may be underestimates due to the National Health Surveys definition of disability days. Several other studies have found work loss to affect from 15 per ¢ to 33 per ¢ of samples studied resulting in many more work loss days than reported by the National Health Surveys. Our study concludes that traditional measures of oral health status such as decayed, missing, and filled teeth and the periodontal index--should be linked to measures of social outcome in order to place dental conditions within the broader context of health status in terms that are relevant to policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the preliminary results of the economic analyses of the National Hospice Study (NHS), mandated by the United States Congress to investigate the implications of including hospice services in Medicare. Data were collected over an 18-month period from approximately 4,000 patients receiving hospice and conventional terminal care in 25 hospices and 12 conventional care sites. Subsequent analysis may lead to changes in the specific results, and some of the differences may be due to confounding variables that cannot be adjusted for. According to these data, hospital based (HB) hospice costs per day are 44 per cent higher than home care (HC) hospice costs per day ($95 versus $66, respectively). In addition, per patient hospice costs are 24 per cent more for patients enrolled in HB than in HC hospices ($5.890 versus $4,758, respectively). The proportional difference between HB and HC in cost per patient is smaller than the cost per day difference due to the shorter average HB length of stay, 62.3 days compared to 72.5 days for HC. Regarding the cost savings of hospice compared to conventional care. HC hospice costs are lower than conventional care costs regardless of length of stay. However, HB costs seem lower than conventional care costs only for patients with lengths of stay less than two month, Hospice and conventional care patients appear to differ with respect to predisposition toward intensive health care utilization. When this difference is explored more thoroughly in subsequent analyses, the estimated cost differential between hospice and conventional care may change. (Am J Public Health 1984; 74:689-697.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the uses of some health status indices in measuring equity of access to medical care. Empirical examples are provided using data from national surveys of the U.S. population conducted from 1964 through 1976. A simple indicator, mean number of physician visits, suggests that between 1963 and 1976 the poor improved their position relative to the rest of the population and, indeed, currently enjoy the highest level of access. However, a second measure, the use-disability ratio indicates that the poor may still receive less care relative to their need. A third measure, the symptoms-response ratio suggests how norms of appropriate behavior might be incorporated into an access measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. This paper analyzes the impact of seven chronic conditions (three nonfatal: arthritis, visual impairment, hearing impairment; four fatal: ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, malignant neoplasms) on US adults aged 18 and older. Impact refers to how readily a condition prompts activity limitations, physician visits, and hospital stays. Methods. Data come from three national health surveys and vital statistics. For comparability, a single disease classification scheme was applied, and new rates were estimated. Frequency, impact, and prominence of the target conditions are studied via rates, ratios of rates, and ranks, respectively. Results. In young adulthood, the nonfatal conditions prompt limitations less readily than do the fatal ones, but by older ages, arthritis and visual impairment have a limiting impact equivalent to that of fatal conditions. Despite high prevalence and limitations, nonfatal conditions stand well below fatal conditions for health services use. Conclusions. Although statistics on frequency, impact, and prominence all indicate conditions' "importance," they give only weak clues about specific service needs of affected persons. The persistent finding that nonfatal conditions do not receive health services care commensurate with their prevalence and impact reflects long-standing imbalanced attention on fatal conditions in research and medical care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a position paper from the American Public Health Association relative to the revision of the National Food Guide and preparation of National Dietary Guidelines in the U.S. The association urges the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to cooperatively modify the National Food Guide and develop National Dietary Guidelines based upon the Recommended Dietary Allowances, Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the Center for Disease Control Nutrition Surveillance Program, and the Nationwide Food Consumption Study.

The article presents a position paper from the American Public Health Association relative to the availability of nutrition status data to local health agencies in the U.S. The association encourages that there be adequate personnel and funding to make surveillance data collected by the Center for Disease Control available to all the states and territories of the U.S. It also encourages that there be enough funding and manpower to enable the administrators of the Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of the National Center for Health Statistics to formulate a method to make data available and more useful to local communities and develop future surveys to accomplish the purpose.