B99186. Imputation of Self-Care Difficulty for the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population 5 Years and Over [3] - American Community Survey 2008 (ACS08) - ACS 2008 (1-Year Estimates)

Data Dictionary:

ACS 2008 (1-Year Estimates)

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Survey: ACS 2008 (1-Year Estimates)

Data Source:

U.S. Census Bureau

Data set: American Community Survey 2008 (ACS08)

Table:

B99186. Imputation of Self-Care Difficulty for the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population 5 Years and Over [3]

Universe: Universe: Civilian noninstitutionalized population 5 years and Over

Table Details

B99186.

Imputation of Self-Care Difficulty for the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population 5 Years and Over

Universe: Universe: Civilian noninstitutionalized population 5 years and Over

Variable	Label
B99186001	Total
B99186002	Imputed
B99186003	Not Imputed

Relevant Documentation:

Excerpt from:	Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey 2008 Summary File: Technical Documentation.
	ACS 2008-1yr Summary File: Technical Documentation -> Appendix B. Subject Definitions -> Quality Measures -> Imputation Rates

Imputation Rates

Missing data for a particular question or item is called item nonresponse. It occurs when a respondent fails to provide an answer to a required item. The ACS also considers invalid answers as item nonresponse. The Census Bureau uses imputation methods that either use rules to determine acceptable answers or use answers from similar housing units or people who provided the item information. One type of imputation, allocation, involves using statistical procedures, such as within-household or nearest neighbor matrices populated by donors, to impute for missing values.

Overall Person Characteristic Imputation Rate

This rate is calculated by adding together the weighted number of allocated items across a set of person characteristics, and dividing by the total weighted number of responses across the same set of characteristics.

Overall Housing Characteristic Imputation Rate

This rate is calculated by adding together the weighted number of allocated items across a set of household and housing unit characteristics, and dividing by the total weighted number of responses across the same set of characteristics. These rates give an overall picture of the rate of item nonresponse for a geographic area.

Excerpt from:	Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey 2008 Summary File: Technical Documentation.
	ACS 2008-1yr Summary File: Technical Documentation -> Appendix B. Subject Definitions -> Population Variables -> Disability Status -> Self-Care Limitations

Self-Care Limitations

The data on self-care limitations were derived from answers to Question 17c, which was asked of people 5 years and over. The question asked respondents if they had "difficulty dressing or bathing." Respondents were instructed to mark yes or no. Question 17c is labeled as "Self-care difficulty" for some disability data products such as the ACS Detailed Tables.

Limitation of the Data

The Census Bureau does not recommend trend analysis using the 2008 data with years prior to 2008 due to the questionnaire change.

Question/Concept History

The 2008 American Community Survey marks a break in the series of disability data. In prior American Community Surveys, a similar question about difficulty "dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home" was asked. However, the changes to the wording and tailoring of the list of activities on which the limitation is based suggest that the 2008 measure is not comparable with the "Self-care disability" estimates from prior years. For additional information on the differences between the 2008 ACS disability questions and prior ACS disability questions, see "2006 ACS Content Test Evaluation Report Covering Disability" (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/AdvMeth/content_test/P4_Disability.pdf).