Description

For all home health events (EVENTYPE) where the care provider works for an agency, hospital, or nursing home (SELFAGEN), respondents were asked to identify the type of professional home health worker they saw. HHOTHPROF reports whether the professional health care worker is NOT on the following list:

• Certified Nursing Assistant (HHCNA)

• Dietician/Nutritionist (HHDIETICN)

• IV or Infusion Therapist (HHIVTHP)

• Medical Doctor (HHMEDLDOC)

• Nurse/Practitioner (HHNURSPRACT)

• Occupational Therapist (HHOCCUPTHP)

• Physical Therapist (HHPHYSLTHP)

• Respiratory Therapist (HHRESPTHP)

• Social Worker (HHSOCIALW)

• Speech Therapist (HHSPEECHTHP)

Home healthcare workers are identified as professional (i.e. skilled) or non-professional (i.e. non-skilled). See (HHCOMPANN) for information about non-professional home healthcare worker variables.

For 1996-2017 samples, "Other type of healthcare worker" was combined into a single variable that does not differentiate between skilled and non-skilled workers, (HHOTHER).

Users should be aware that identification of home health providers by household respondents is subjective and not mutually exclusive or collectively exhaustive, which limits the types of estimates that can be made using home health event variables. For instance, respondents may have indicated that a person was seen by more than one home health care worker during a single event, since an event represents a month of services. In addition, the type of insurance a respondent has can influence their identification of the type of home health care worker that provided service; one type of insurance may identify a worker as a personal care attendant while a different type of insurance may identify the same worker as a home care aide.

IPUMS MEPS reports the universe for each variable based on a thorough review of the original MEPS documentation. Investigating the data may reveal cases that do not meet the stated universe. Users are encouraged to validate universes for their analyses.

HHOTHPROF is on the event record (see RECTYPE for more details on the different record types in IPUMS MEPS). Variables offered on the event record through IPUMS MEPS are derived from the dental visits, other medical expenses, hospital inpatient stays, emergency room visits, outpatient visits, office-based medical provider visits, and home health event files provided by AHRQ. Please see our overview of the event, medical conditions, and prescribed medicines variables, including how those variables are offered through IPUMS MEPS, and general considerations to keep in mind when conducting analyses using these variables.

Comparability

There are no comparability issues.

Universe

Availability

• 2018-2023

Weights

• 2018-2023 : PERWEIGHT

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