science

Health Information National Trends Survey

Health Information National Trends Survey is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Health Information National Trends Survey rather than just read about it. In short: The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) is a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of American adults sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. HINTS provides publicly available data on American adults' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and behaviors related to cancer prevention, control and communication.

Key takeaways

Health Information National Trends Survey belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Health Information National Trends Survey to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Health Information National Trends Survey from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) is a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of American adults sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. HINTS provides publicly available data on American adults' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and behaviors related to cancer prevention, control and communication. Researchers use the data to identify trends in health communication, including how people find cancer information, which sources they use, their feelings about the search process, and how they perceive cancer overall. For example, HINTS data users have examined how adults 18 years and older use different communication channels (e.g., the Internet) to obtain vital health information for themselves and their loved ones. They've also analyzed the experiences people have when they search for cancer information. Program planners can use the data to overcome barriers to health-information access and to obtain data to help them create more effective communication strategies. Social scientists can use the data to refine theories of health communication and to recommend methods to reduce the burden of cancer. As a national-level surveillance vehicle for cancer and health communication, HINTS can make valuable contributions to the larger cyberinfrastructure devoted to health and may potentially be leveraged with other national-level surveys (e.g., The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance Survey and National Health Interview Survey) to gauge the effects of policy changes on population health.

HINTS Surveys

HINTS 1 (2003) The first HINTS data were collected between October 2002 and April 2003 via a Random Digit Dial (RDD) telephone survey using a Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) format to accommodate complex skip-patterns based on respondent's answers. Data were collected from 6,369 respondents. The survey instruments are available in English and Spanish.

HINTS 2 (2005) HINTS 2 data were collected from February 2005 through August 2005. HINTS 2005 also used RDD/CATI and identical data collection procedures. Data were collected from 5,586 respondents.

HINTS 3 (2008) HINTS 3 data were collected from January 2008 through May 2008. The sample design for HINTS 2008 consisted of two samples with each sample selected from a separate sample frame. One sample used the same RDD/CATI methodology as prior surveys. Survey administration averaged 30 minutes per respondent. Data were collected from 4,092 respondents. The second sample was selected from United States Postal Service address administrative records. After the CATI instrument was modified to produce a printed questionnaire, the survey and a cover letter were sent to the address sample. All adults at each sampled address were asked to return the completed questionnaire in a postage-paid envelope. Data were collected from 3,582 respondents. Data from both surveys became available for public use in February 2009 along with a final report. The 2008 survey added questions about social media, personal health records, health services utilization, and patient provider communication.

HINTS Puerto Rico (2009) HINTS researchers expanded to Puerto Rico in 2009. The University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Puerto Rico Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System collaborated with the National Cancer Institute on the project. A total of 639 interviews were conducted (603 complete and 36 partially complete). Data and documentation as well as instructions on how to combine the data set with HINTS 2007 is available on the HINTS website.

HINTS 4, Cycle 1 (2011) Data for cycle 1 were collected from October 2011 through February 2012. The sample design consisted of a single-mode mail survey, with two methods of respondent selection: the All Adult method and the Next Birthday method. The sampling consisted of a two-stage stratified sample of addresses used by Marketing Systems Group (MSG). In the All Adult method, two questionnaires were sent with each mailing, where all adults residing in a sampled household were asked to complete the questionnaire. In the next birthday method, one questionnaire was sent with each mailing so that the adult who would have the next birthday in the sampled household was asked to complete the questionnaire. Data were collected from 3,959 respondents. The methodology report, complete data set and the survey instruments are available on the HINTS website.

HINTS 4, Cycle 2 (2012) Data for cycle 2 were collected from October 2012 through January 2013. The sample design consisted of a single-mode mail survey, using the Next Birthday method for respondent selection. It included two stages. In the first stage, a stratified sample of addresses was selected from a file of residential addresses. In the second-stage, one adult was selected within each sampled household. The sampling frame consisted of a database of addresses used by Marketing Systems Group (MSG) to provide random samples of addresses. Complete data were collected from 3,630 respondents. The methodology report, complete data set and the survey instruments are available on the HINTS website.

HINTS 4, Cycle 3 (2013) Cycle 3 data were collected from September 2013 through December 2013. Like cycle 2, the sample design consisted of a single-mode mail survey that used the Next Birthday method for respondent selection. The sample design for this survey consisted of two-stages. In the first stage, a stratified sample of addresses was selected from a file of residential addresses. In the second-stage, one adult was selected within each sampled household. The sampling frame consisted of a database of addresses used by Marketing Systems Group (MSG) to provide random samples of addresses. Complete data were collected from 3,185 respondents. The methodology report, complete data set and the survey instruments are available on the HINTS website.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Health Information National Trends Survey

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Health Information National Trends Survey claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Health Information National Trends Survey before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Health Information National Trends Survey ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Health Information National Trends Survey

In research: Health Information National Trends Survey appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Health Information National Trends Survey in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Health Information National Trends Survey is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Health in the United States, Health surveys, Public health research, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Health Information National Trends Survey outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Health Information National Trends Survey in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Health Information National Trends Survey means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Health Information National Trends Survey out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Health Information National Trends Survey in simple terms?

Why does Health Information National Trends Survey matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Health Information National Trends Survey?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Health Information National Trends Survey.