At A Glance
Noteworthy Characteristics
- Identifies changing communications trends, practices, and needs.
- Includes use of various Internet resources, such as social networking sites.
- Respondents are asked whether they have children and the number of children younger than age 18 years residing in their household.
- Gathers information about adults’ attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors related to diet, physical activity, sleep, and obesity that may affect their children.
Website
Purpose
To collect data about how adults in the United States (U.S.) access and use information related to cancer and general health.
Target Population
Non-Institutionalized Adults 18 years and older. Data are collected in all 50 states.
Conducted
Began in 2003. Conducted biennially from 2003 to 2007. HINTS 1 (2003), HINTS 2 (2005), HINTS 3 (2007); annually starting in 2011, HINTS 4 Cycle 1 (2011), HINTS 4 Cycle 2 (2012), HINTS 4 Cycle 3 (2013), HINTS 5 Cycle 1 (2017), HINTS 5 Cycle 2 (2018), and HINTS 5 Cycle 3 (2019).
Sponsor
National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Special Note(s)
System Contact: http://hints.cancer.gov/contact_us.aspx
Sampling
Sample Design
Cross-sectional, stratified random sampling, nationally representative. Learn more. Additional information regarding the Hints 4 Cycle 4 methodology is available online. Learn more. HINTS 5 instruments will be coming soon.
Sample Size
Approximately 7,700 adults in the HINTS 3 Survey. HINTS 1 had 6,369 respondents and HINTS 2 had 5,586 respondents. The combined sample size for all four cycles of HINTS 4 will be greater than 14,000 respondents, more than twice the size of previous rounds of HINTS data collections. The combined sample size for all four cycles of HINTS 5 and additional cycle of HINTS-FDA data will be greater than 17,000 respondents.
Special Note(s)
HINTS 1 and HINTS 2 used list-assisted Random Digit Dialing (RDD) and Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) methods. HINTS 3 used a dual frame/dual mode method. One sample was obtained using Addressed Based Sampling (ABS), with surveys completed through the US mail. Data were collected from 3,582 respondents by mail. Data also were collected from 4,092 individuals using RDD and a telephone interview. Learn more about the HINTS sampling strategies in the respective Final Reports. All cycles of HINTS 4 used Addressed Based Sampling (ABS) and a self-administered mail survey.
Weights are provided to allow for U.S. population estimates from either sample independently or a combined sample.
HINTS sample sizes at the state level are too small to produce reliable results.
Key Variables
Demographic
Name | Methods of Assessment |
---|---|
Age | Interview/questionnaire |
English fluency | Interview/questionnaire |
Household income | Interview/questionnaire |
Household size (number of related and unrelated members) | Interview/questionnaire |
Race/ethnicity | Interview/questionnaire |
Sex | Interview/questionnaire |
Whether respondent has children younger than age 18 years | Interview/questionnaire |
Whether respondent was born in the U.S.; if not, what year came to US | Interview/questionnaire |
Whether respondent rents or owns home | Interview/questionnaire |
Whether respondent is able to save money each month | Interview/questionnaire |
Diet-Related
Name | Methods of Assessment |
---|---|
Amounts of fruits and vegetables respondent believes should be consumed each day for good health | Interview/questionnaire |
Awareness of, attention to, beliefs about, and response to new nutrition recommendations | Interview/questionnaire |
Frequency of fruit consumption (includes daily servings) | Interview/questionnaire |
Frequency of vegetable consumption (includes daily servings) | Interview/questionnaire |
Frequency of drinking 100% fruit juice | Interview/questionnaire |
Sources of information about diet | Interview/questionnaire |
Physical Activity-Related
Name | Methods of Assessment |
---|---|
Awareness of, attention to, beliefs about, and response to physical activity recommendations | Interview/questionnaire |
Frequency and length of at least moderate-intensity physical activity | Interview/questionnaire |
Physical activity frequency and length that the respondent believes are necessary to remain healthy | Interview/questionnaire |
Sources of information about physical activity | Interview/questionnaire |
Sleep-Related
Name | Methods of Assessment |
---|---|
Sleep continuity: Sleep latency | Self report, questionnaire (by mail) |
Sleep disturbances and quality: Subjective satisfaction | Self report, questionnaire (mail and web survey) |
Sleep duration and quantity: Total sleep time during weekends/holidays | Self report, questionnaire (by mail) |
Sleep duration and quantity: Total sleep time during workdays/schooldays | Self report, questionnaire (by mail) |
Sleep duration and quantity: Total sleep time variability | Self report, questionnaire (by mail) |
Social determinants of health (e.g., income, racial discrimination) | Self report, questionnaire (by mail) |
Weight-Related
Name | Methods of Assessment |
---|---|
Attempts to lose weight in the past 12 months | Interview/questionnaire |
Height and weight | Self-report |
Respondent’s perception of his/her weight | Interview/questionnaire |
Geocode/Linkage
Name | Methods of Assessment |
---|---|
Census region, census division, metropolitan statistical areas, rural/metro designation | N/A |
Special Note(s)
A complete list of items related to nutrition and physical activity are available here: http://hints.cancer.gov/advanced.aspx?tpc=15.
Data Access and Cost
Data Availability
Download data from the HINTS dataset website.
Cost
Free of charge.
Geocode/Linkage
Geocode Variable(s)
Census region, census division, metropolitan statistical areas, rural/metro designation.
Existing Linkages
None noted.
Selected Publications
Click here for a full list of current publications.
General
Nelson DE, Kreps GL, Hesse BW, Croyle RT, Willis G, Arora NK, Rimer BK, Viswanath KV, Weinstein N, Alden S. The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS): Development, design, and dissemination. Journal of Health Communication 2004;9(5):443-460.
Methods
Moser, RP, Naveed, S, Cantor, D, Blake, KD, Rutten, LJF, Ramirez, AS, Liu, B, & Yu, M. Integrative analytic methods using population-level cross-sectional data. National Cancer Institute, June, 2013
Rizzo L, Moser RP, Waldron W, Wang Z, Davis WW. Analytic methods to examine changes across years using HINTS 2003 and 2005 data. National Cancer Institute, June 2008, NIH publication 08-6435.
Resources
Documentation/Codebook(s)
http://hints.cancer.gov/dataset.aspx
http://hints.cancer.gov/instrument.aspx