U.S. National Health Examination Survey

Abstract

IN THE UNITED STATES, unlike in many otlher countries, all Federal Government statistical activities are not centralized in one statistics bureau. Rather, these activities have developed in a decentralized pattern, with different agencies responsible for the collectiont and analysis of statistical data in particular areas. However, a central statistical office insures that these various activities are properly integrated and prevents duplication. This is a function of the Office of Statistical Standards in the BIureau of the Budget, located, of course, in the Executive Office of the President. The Office of Statistical Standards develops and enforces some standards for the quality and comparability of data produced by Governmenit agencies; it coordinates efforts and attempts to avoid duplication and to minimize reporting burdens. But the development and the conduct of statistical prog,rams and activities lie almost completely within the separate agencies. I do not intend to deal in detail with the extremely broad and varied field of Federal Government statistics. The Budget Bureau publislhes a directory of statisticians in the Federal service, a useful 200-page. reference book. However, a categorization of these activities will provide a setting for my desoription of the Health Examination Survey. The Budget Bureau has prepared a chart that groups together more than a score of agencies which have im)ortant statistical programs but which collect statistical information primarily as part of their administrative and operating responsibilities. An example of this category is the statistical program of the Internal Revenue Service, which is incidental to its work-collection of taxes. The second category groups eight agencies having major interest in using, analyzing, and interpreting statistical data, largely, though not entirely, collected by other agencies. An example of one of these user groups is the Council of Economic Advisers. The third category consists of general-purpose statistical agencies; those charged with collecting, compiling, analyzing, and publishing statistical data for general use. There are four such agencies, each dealing with a particular field. The Statistical Reporting Service, Department of Agriculture, deals with crop statistics, including livestock production, farmers' prices (paid and received), and farm employment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, deals with statistics on the labor force, employment earnings, productivity, and the like. The Bureau of the Census, Commerce Department, is responsible for censuses of and current statistics on population, housing, and a variety of other subjects. Finally, the newest of the general-purpose statistical agencies is the National Center for Health Statistics. This center collects, compiles, analyzes, and publishes statistics on morbidity; health care; demographic, economic, and social factors related to health; and births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. The foregoing detail is presented, not out of bureaucratic fondness for organization charts, but because it relates to a fundamental and sigMr. McDowell is chief of the Division of Health Examination Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Public Health Service. This paper is an extension of his address to the joint meeting of the biostatistics section of the New York City Chapter of the American Statistical Association and the New York City Chapter of the American Public Health Association, March 25, 1965.