CDC Wants Comments on Health Survey Paperwork—Zzz
Published Date: 8/20/2026
Notice
Summary
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). This Extension is designed to include the continuation of current questionnaire content and data collection operations in 2027, as well as a systemic redesign of the NHIS to be implemented in 2028.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 1 mixed.
Estimated Respondent Burden Hours and Sample Sizes
CDC estimates total annualized burden hours for NHIS data collection: for 2027 the total is 38,925 hours with 35,000 household roster respondents, 33,000 sample adults (56 minutes each), 10,000 child questionnaires (20 minutes each), 3,000 methodological project responses (40 minutes each), and 5,500 reinterview surveys (5 minutes each). For 2028-2029 the total is 39,875 hours with 65,000 household roster respondents, 40,000 sample adults (35 minutes each), 10,000 child questionnaires (15 minutes each), 16,000 methodological project responses (35 minutes each), 500 adolescent follow-backs (15 minutes), and 3,000 reinterviews (5 minutes).
2027 NHIS Question Content Changes
The 2027 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) will continue core data collection but will rotate specific topics on or off the adult and child questionnaires: items that rotate off include service utilization, physical activity (including walking), sleep, alcohol use, fatigue, smoking history/cessation, child height/weight, neighborhood characteristics, and screen time. The 2027 rotating adult core will include chronic conditions, allergies, hearing and communication, preventative screening, aspirin use, chronic pain, injuries, and detailed employment items; the 2027 child core will include injuries, allergies, and stressful life events.
2028 Redesign Shortens Adult Interview
CDC plans a redesigned NHIS for implementation in 2028 that adopts a sequential mixed-mode approach (self-administered online and paper questionnaires first, followed by Census Bureau in-person follow-up for nonresponders). The adult questionnaire burden is explicitly reduced from 56 minutes per respondent in 2027 to 35 minutes per respondent in 2028-2029.
Possible Recontact for Follow-up and Testing
Respondents to the 2027 NHIS may be recontacted: they will serve as the sampling frame for the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), and subsamples of NHIS respondents and/or commercial survey panel members may be selected for short methodological/cognitive testing or web/phone/mail follow-up on existing NHIS topics.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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