Nursing Home Component. The 1996 MEPS NHC was a survey of nursing homes and persons residing in or admitted to nursing homes at any time during calendar year 1996. The NHC gathered information on the demographic characteristics, residence history, health and functional status, use of services, use of prescription medicines, and health care expenditures of nursing home residents. Nursing home administrators and designated staff also provided information on facility size, ownership, certification status, services provided, revenues and expenses, and other facility characteristics. Data on the income, assets, family relationships, and care-giving services for sampled nursing home residents were obtained from next- of-kin or other knowledgeable persons in the community. The 1996 MEPS NHC sample was selected using a two-stage stratified probability design. In the first stage, facilities were selected; in the second stage, facility residents were sampled, selecting both persons in residence on January 1, 1996, and those admitted during the period January 1 through December 31. The sample frame for facilities was derived from the National Health Provider Inventory, which is updated periodically by NCHS. The MEPS NHC data were collected in person in three rounds of data collection over a 1½-year period using the CAPI system. Community data were collected by telephone using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) technology. At the end of three rounds of data collection, the sample consisted of 815 responding facilities, 3,209 residents in the facility on January 1, and 2,690 eligible residents admitted during 1996.
