Introduction to the 1996 MEPS Nursing
Home Component Data Collection Instrument:
Rounds 1–3
The MEPS NHC Nursing Home Component is sponsored by the Agency
for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ). The (NHC) is a panel
survey of nursing homes and persons resident in or admitted to
nursing homes during calendar year 1996. The NHC panel design consists
of three rounds conducted by in-person interviewing, in the nursing
home, using Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) technology.
Round 1 was conducted from May-July 1996; Round 2 was conducted
from August-December, 1996. The last round was conducted from April-August
1997 The primary objective of the NHC is to estimate, for persons
who are residents in nursing homes anytime during 1996, their use
of and expenses for nursing home services and other health care
expenses during their periods of residence. Other major objectives
are to provide estimates of
- Sources of payments, and changes in
sources of payment for nursing home services
- Annual use of in-patient hospital services for nursing
home residents during 1996
- Use, expenditures, and sources of payment for physician
services provided during periods of nursing home residence
- Characteristics of facilities, including structure, size,
certification, services typically provided, staffing, revenues and expenses
- Use of prescribed medications by nursing home residents
- Functional health status of nursing home residents at selected points in time
- Diagnostic data
- Family characteristics, income and assets
For a discussion of the design and methods and a complete list
of acronyms used in the questionnaire of the NHC, see Potter DEB.
Design and Methods of the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
Nursing Home Component. Rockville (MD): Agency for Health Care
Policy and Research; 1998. MEPS Methodology Report No.3. AHCPR
Pub. No. 98-0041.
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Each round of the MEPS-NHC collected information on facilities
and persons sampled within the facilities. Each round of data collection
also includes different sections of the overall MEPS NHC data collection
instrument. Some sections are included only during one round of
data collection, some are included once but are updated during
subsequent rounds. An overview of the data collection activities
for the MEPS NHC can be found in collect.pdf.
Navigating through the NHC questionnaire using nav-v#-v1.pdf
The
MEPS-NHC is a large-scale and comprehensive data collection effort.
To accommodate the extensive array of questions covered, yet minimize
the number of questions asked of each respondent, CAPI technology
structures the design of the data collection instrument as an intricate
system of skip patterns. Since data are collected using CAPI, rather
than hard-copy questionnaire, the data collection instrument actually
consists of a series of computer programming notes embedded along
with each data item. Any single question must be considered within
the context of the skip patterns incorporated into the questionnaire.
Residents are sampled during each round only in the sampled facilities.
Those sampled in Round 1 are referred to as Current Residents;
those sampled in Round 2 are referred to as Round 2 First Admits;
those sampled in Round 3 are referred to as Round 3 First Admits.
In addition, these sampled persons may transfer to another sampled
facility; others may transfer to new facilities. These combinations
yield seven different resident/facility types. NAV-V3-V1.PDF can
be used in conjunction with the survey instrument to identify which
facilities and sampled residents are eligible for all or selected
portions of the questionnaire for each round and to determine reference
periods for those facilities and residents who were administered
the questionnaire.
A brief description of the questionnaire sections is provided below.
On the attached files, detailed information regarding the objectives
and the general structure of that section precede each section
of the questionnaire. It is recommended that the documentation
preceding each section be read carefully.
Facility questionnaires: Round 1
The Round 1 facility-level questionnaire was administered to all
sampled, cooperating, eligible facilities. It is divided into five
sections that were collected using CAPI and a sixth section which
utilized a self- administered questionnaire (SAQ). The names of
the sections, the code identifying each section, the files that
identify the section, and the page numbers are listed below, followed
by a brief description of each section. The section code can be
used to identify the questionnaire section when navigating through
the instrument. For example, the first question of the Facility
Structure and Characteristics Section is FA1, the second question
of the Facility Rate Schedule is FR2, the fifth question of the
Self-Administered Questionnaire is SAQ5, and so forth.
The page numbers shown below reflect the electronic page number.
When this instrument is printed the page number on the hard copy
will not always match the electronic page number.
|
Code |
Section |
File name |
Page# |
|
|
Objectives, structure,
and concepts |
fac-lvl.pdf |
1-11 |
|
FA |
Facility Structure
and Characteristics |
fac-lvl.pdf |
12-67 |
|
FR |
Facility Rate Schedule |
fac-lvl.pdf |
68-69 |
|
FG |
Facility Records
Organization Grid |
fac-lvl.pdf |
70-71 |
|
SS |
Sampling Section |
fac-lvl.pdf |
72-86 |
|
MD |
Facility Missing Data |
fac-lvl.pdf |
87-102 |
|
|
Card Info/Help Screens |
fac-lvl.pdf |
103-118 |
|
SAQ |
Self-Administered
Questionnaire |
fac-lvl.pdf |
119-123 |
FA - The Facility Structure and Characteristics Section is the largest and most complex of the sections and needs to be read carefully to determine whether the questions are directed toward the sampled facility, larger facility, a special care unit of the nursing home, or a unit of the larger facility. Its primary purpose is to define the facility's eligibility, determine its structure, enumerate and classify all the parts (or units) of a facility, collect data on the number of beds by Medicaid and Medicare certification status, state licensing status, and whether or not 24-hour a day, on-site supervision is provided by an RN or LPN seven days a week. Subsequent questions about the facility will exclude non-certified or unlicensed units.
FR - This is a vehicle for collecting a copy of the facility's rate schedule and contains four questions. It is designed to assist analysis of expenditure data at the sample person level.
FG - Facility Records Organization Grid identifies the various records the facility maintains with resident data and the facility staff members in charge of the records.
SS - This section is used to select a random sample of facility residents from eligible nursing home units. It directs the interviewer to list all current residents (i.e., residents of the nursing home unit at 12:00 a.m., December 31,1995).
MD - If data could not be ascertained from the first respondent, or during the initial interview, the Facility Missing Data Module is the CAPI instrument used to collect these data from alternative nursing home staff.
SAQ - The Self-Administered Questionnaire collects information on
the wage rates and number of nursing staff employees by type, and
the number of admissions in 1995.
Facility questionnaires: Round 2
The Round 2 facility instrument consist of the sampled facility questionnaire (updates information collected in Round 1) and the new facility questionnaire (collects information on eligible facilities to which some residents sampled in Round 1 were transferred).
The Round 2 sampled facility-level questionnaire is divided into three sections. The names of the sections, the code identifying each section, the files that identify the section, and the page numbers are listed below, followed by a brief description of each section.
Sampled facility-level questionnaire Round 2
| Code |
Section |
File
name |
Page# |
| |
Objectives,
structure,
and concepts |
sam-fac2.pdf |
1-12 |
| FB |
Facility Structure
and Characteristics |
sam-fac2.pdf |
13-47 |
| SS |
Sampling Section |
sam-fac2.pdf |
48-59 |
| FR |
Facility Rate
Schedule |
sam-fac2.pdf |
60-72 |
| |
Facility Missing Data
Card Info/Help Screens |
sam-fac2.pdf |
73-86 |
FB - Updates data collected in FA in Round 1.
SS - This section is used to select a random sample of residents admitted since January 1, 1996 and the Round 2 interview.
FR - Updates information collected in the Round
1 FR.
The Round 2 new facility-level questionnaire was administered
to all cooperating, eligible facilities to which residents sampled
in round 1 were transferred. The content is similar to that of the
facility-level instrument used in Round 1 for sampled facilities.
New facility-level instrument: Round 2
|
Code |
Section |
File name |
Page# |
|
|
Objectives,
structure,
and concepts |
new-fac.pdf |
1-6 |
|
FA |
Facility Structure
and Characteristics |
new-fac.pdf |
7-67 |
|
FR |
Facility Rate
Schedule |
new-fac.pdf |
68-69 |
|
FG |
Facility Records
Organization Grid |
new-fac.pdf |
70-72 |
|
MD |
Facility Missing Data |
new-fac.pdf |
73-89 |
|
|
Card Info/Help
Screens |
new-fac.pdf |
90-100 |
FA - Similar to the FA section used to collect
data for sampled facilities in Round 1.
FR - Similar to the FR section used to collect
data for sampled facilities in Round 1.
FG - Similar to the FG section used to collect
data for sampled facilities in Round 1.
MD- Similar to the MD section used to collect
data for sampled facilities in Round 1.
Facility questionnaires: Round 3
The Round 3 facility instrument consist of the sampled facility questionnaire (updates information collected on facilities sampled in Round 1) and the continuing new facility /new facility questionnaire (collects information on eligible facilities to which some residents sampled in Rounds 1 or 2 were transferred).
Sampled facility questionnaire: Round 3
|
Code |
Section |
File name |
Page# |
|
|
Objectives,
structure,
and concepts |
sam-fac3.pdf |
1-10 |
|
FC |
Facility Cost Report |
sam-fac3.pdf |
11-41 |
|
SS |
Sampling Section |
sam-fac3.pdf |
42-53 |
|
MD |
Facility Missing Data |
sam-fac3.pdf |
54-75 |
|
SAQ |
Self-Administered
Questionnaire |
sam-fac3.pdf |
76-87 |
FC - The Facility Cost Report collects revenue data.
SS - This section is used to select a random sample of residents admitted since Round 2 interview and December 31, 1996.
MD - Collects facility missing data; similar to the MD section used in Rounds 1 and 2.
SAQ - Updates information collected in earlier SAQ.
Continuing new and new facility questionnaire: Round 3
|
Code |
Section |
File name |
Page# |
|
|
Objectives,
structure,
and concepts |
cnf-nffq.pdf |
1-12 |
|
FA |
Facility Structure
and
Characteristics |
cnf-nffq.pdf |
13-66 |
|
FB |
Facility Structure
and
Characteristics |
cnf-nffq.pdf |
67-75 |
|
SAQ |
Self-Administered
Questionnaire |
cnf-nffq.pdf |
76-82 |
|
MD |
Facility Missing Data |
cnf-nffq.pdf |
82-97 |
|
|
Show Cards and
Help Screens |
cnf-nffq.pdf |
98-101 |
FA -
Similar to the FA section used to collect data for sampled facilities
in Round 1.
FB - Updates information collected in FB during
Round 2 for continuing new facilities.
SAQ - Similar to the SAQ used for sampled facilities
in Round 1. Collects data for new facilities and updates information
for continuing new facilities.
MD - Collects facility missing data; similar to the MD section used in Rounds 1 and 2.
Person-level questionnaire: Rounds 1–3
The person-level questionnaire collects data on a random sample of
persons who were residents in the cooperating, eligible nursing homes
on January 1, 1996 and on a random sample of persons admitted to
sampled facilities between January 1 and December 31, 1996.
Person-level data include demographic information, measures of health
status and psychosocial well-being, diagnoses/conditions, insurance
information, key dates for residents, and family relationships.
The table below lists each sample-person questionnaire section by
section code, section name, page numbers, and the name of the corresponding
computer file by which each section is identified.
The page numbers shown below reflect the electronic page number.
When this instrument is printed the page number on the hard copy
will not always match the electronic page number.
|
Code |
Section |
File name |
Page# |
|
|
RH structure and
concepts |
res-his.pdf |
1-8 |
|
RH |
Residency History |
res-his.pdf |
9-52 |
|
|
RH help screens
and show cards |
res-his.pdf |
53-58 |
|
|
PM structure |
pmed.pdf |
1-3 |
|
PM |
Prescription
Medicines |
pmed.pdf |
4-40 |
|
|
IN structure and
concepts |
fb-hi.pdf |
1-2 |
|
BQ |
Background
Questionnaire |
fb-hi.pdf |
3-19 |
|
IN |
Insurance |
fb-hi.pdf |
20-31 |
|
|
IN show cards and
help
screens |
fb-hi.pdf |
32-35 |
|
|
Health status
structure and
concepts |
hlthstat.pdf |
1-13 |
|
HA |
Health Status-A |
hlthstat.pdf |
14-58 |
|
HB |
Health Status-B |
hlthstat.pdf |
56-65 |
|
HC |
Health Status-C |
hlthstat.pdf |
66-67 |
|
|
Show cards/Help
screens |
hlthstat.pdf |
68-82 |
|
|
EX structure and
concepts |
expend.pdf |
1-7 |
|
EX |
Expenditures |
expend.pdf |
8-51 |
|
|
EX help screens and
show cards |
expend.pdf |
52-53 |
|
|
US structure and
concepts |
services.pdf |
1-8 |
|
|
Blank Pages |
services.pdf |
9-14 |
|
US |
Use of services |
services.pdf |
15-34 |
|
|
US help screens and
show cards |
services.pdf |
35-40 |
|
|
CI structure and
concepts |
communty.pdf |
1-7 |
|
CI |
Community interview
structure
and concepts |
communty.pdf |
8-77 |
|
|
CI help screens and
show cards |
communty.pdf |
78-79 |
RH - Residency History collects key
reference dates, information about all stays in eligible facilities,
ineligible long-term care places, hospitals, and the community
from the date of most recent community stay prior to January
1, 1996, to the date of interview.
PM - The data collected in
the Prescribed Medicine section include the name of the medicine,
the form, strength, and dosage in which it was prescribed,
the number of times it was prescribed each month, and when it
was
discontinued.
BQ - The Background Questionnaire collects demographic information, lifetime
use of long-term care and information about the sample person's
immediate family, typically from nursing staff who use medical
records.
IN - The Insurance Section collects information about
the person's insurance coverage.
HA - This section gathers information that is usually contained in the residents
Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment, the Quarterly Review forms,
and other medical records. It includes data on diagnoses/conditions,
ADL status, cognition, and behavior. *
HB - The HB collects
information on incident conditions and hospital stays and diagnoses.*
HC - This last section of the Health Status Questionnaire
ascertains the source
of data for the HA and HB sections. *
EX -
The overall objective
of the Expenditure instrument across Rounds 2 and 3 is to collect
billing and payment information data for all sampled residents
during the 1996 period of time they were residing in an eligible
nursing home. In both rounds insurance missing data is also
administered in EX for those sampled residents who had missing
items in IN
or HA from the previous round. In round 3, questions about
income from Social Security, pensions, and home ownership are
asked
for all sampled residents who have expenditure data collected
from the facilities in which they were sampled.
US - The Use of Services instrument collects information about the types
and frequency of services, such as physician, occupational therapy,
physical therapy mental health services, podiatry, emergency
room, and so forth used by sampled residents.
CI - The Community
Interview is used to collect information in areas where the
community
respondent should have a better knowledge about the sampled
resident. Conducted by telephone, it includes resident history
(RH), demographic
information (BQ), insurance information (IN), care giver information
(CQ), and income and assets (IA) information.
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The data collection instrument for
Rounds 1-3 of the MEPS Nursing Home Component is provided for
public use in 12 separate computer
files. These files are stored in portable document format (PDF)
for easy translation and printing. To view and print PDF files,
you need Adobe Acrobat Reader®, a free software program you
can download from the Adobe Web site.
^top
Suggested
Citation:
Introduction to the 1996 MEPS Nursing Home Component
Data Collection Instrument. January 2001. Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/data_stats/nhc_
data_collection.shtml
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