Description
For all condition-event link records, DUIDJ reports the identifier assigned by MEPS to the person's Dwelling Unit (DU), sampled for MEPS data collection. DUIDJ 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 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, DUIDJ is unique within panel, but must be combined with PANELJ to be unique across panels. Starting in 2018, DUIDJ begins with the 2-digit variable PANEL, making DUIDJ unique across panels. DUIDJ can be combined with PIDJ 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.
DUIDJ is a numeric variable ranging in width from 1 to 7 digits.
Universe
- 1996-2022: All condition-event link records.
Availability
- 1996-2022
Weights
- No weights are available for this variable. Please refer to DUIDJ for more information.
