Description
For all persons, DUID reports the identifier assigned by MEPS to the person's Dwelling Unit (DU), sampled for MEPS data collection. DUID is a random ID number assigned after the DU was sampled for MEPS and does not change once assigned. The MEPS sample is a subset of the households that participated in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
DU definitions are generally consistent with NHIS definitions of households. For example, the 2018 NHIS Survey Description document describes households as "occupied housing units" (p. 10) that exclude "long-term care institutions (for example, nursing homes for the elderly, hospitals for the chronically ill or physically or intellectually disabled, and wards for abused or neglected children), correctional facilities (for example, prisons or jails, juvenile detention centers, and halfway houses)." (p. 8). Additionally, "unless one other family member is a civilian eligible for the survey (for example, a child whose parents are both active-duty military)" (p. 8), housing units occupied by active-duty Armed Forces personnel are also excluded from the survey.
From 1996-2017, DUID is unique within panel, but must be combined with PANEL to be unique across panels. Starting in 2018, DUID begins with the 2-digit variable PANEL, making DUID unique across panels. DUID can be combined with PID to uniquely identify each person within the Dwelling Unit. Please see the user note for more information on the relationship between Dwelling Units, families, Reporting Units, and persons.
DUID is a numeric variable ranging in width from 1 to 7 digits.
Universe
- 1996-2021: All persons.
Availability
- 1996-2021
Weights
- No weights are available for this variable. Please refer to DUID for more information.
