Table 4.

Survey Database Examples in the United States and Canada With Data From 1990 Onward for Potential Use in Congenital Heart Defects Public Health Investigations

Name	Brief Description	Sponsoring Organization	Data Years	URL (Accessed as of June 1, 2016)
American Community Survey (ACS)	Part of the Decennial Census Program, it is a nationwide continuous survey sent to a small percentage of US households to gather demographic, housing, social, and economic data and provide yearly reports	United States Decennial Census Program—Census Bureau	2005–present	http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Decennial Census	Survey of all US households done every 10 years, consisting of short and long forms. As of 2010, only the short‐form is done—the long form replaced by the ACS. Data are used for numerous purposes	United States Census Bureau	1790–present	https://www.census.gov/
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)	Survey of households to estimate use of health services, cost, payment, & availability; surveys have 3 components: core household, insurance/employer, and the medical provider	Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)	1996–present	http://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)	Survey of households to estimate the amount, distribution, & effects of illness & disability in the US across demographics and socioeconomic status; updated questions on select topics; main source of health information on the US population	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—National Center for Health Statistics	1957–present	http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm
National Survey on Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS‐CSHCN)	Random sample survey of households in all states to assess prevalence & impact of special healthcare needs among children in the US; survey has core & special topic areas such as CHDs	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—National Center for Health Statistics—Maternal Child Health Bureau	2000, 2005, 2009	http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/slaits/cshcn.htm