Health Survey for England
The Health Survey for England (HSE) is a statistical survey which is conducted annually in order to collect information concerning health and health-related behaviour of people living in private households in England.
History
editThe HSE was originally set up in 1991 to provide information about morbidity with the aim of improving the targeting of national health policies. From 1991 to 1994, the survey was conducted by the Office for Population Censuses and Surveys which is now part of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). From 1994, the HSE has been conducted by the Joint Survey Unit of the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London[1] .
While certain core questions remain unchanged, the focus of the HSE changes every year to a different topic. These are repeated at appropriate intervals to assure continuity and to monitor change. The following topics have been the focus of the HSE over time:
- 1993 cardiovascular disease
- 1994 cardiovascular disease
- 1995 asthma, accidents and disability
- 1996 asthma, accidents and special measures of general health
- 1997 children and young people
- 1998 cardiovascular disease
- 1999 ethnic groups
- 2000 older people and social exclusion
- 2001 respiratory disease and atopic conditions, disability and non-fatal accidents
- 2002 children and young people (aged 0-24)
- 2003 cardiovascular disease
- 2004 ethnic minority groups
- 2005 older people
- 2006 cardiovascular disease[2]
- 2007 knowledge and attitudes towards key aspects of lifestyle, and impact of the 2007 UK 'smokefree' legislation
From 1991 to 1995 the HSE was restricted to adults aged 16 and over but that changed in 1995 when children aged 2-15 were included in the survey. From 2001, age restrictions were removed completely, except for topics targeting certain population groups only [3] .
Methodology and scope
editThe HSE samples approximately 16,000 adults and 4,000 children each year[4]. Information is collected by interviewing all eligible people within a household, and this is followed by a visit from a nurse, where anthropomorphic measurements are taken and blood and saliva samples collected. Persons aged 13 years and over are interviewed directly whereas information about children under 13 is given by the parents while the children are present [5].
Survey results
editThe main findings of the HSE are published annually in the form of a report by the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care and the ONS. The 2007 version is available online from the Information Centre.
Re-using the data
editUsers can obtain HSE data from the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) website (registration is required).
References
edit- ^ Department of Health, Introduction to the HSE, retrieved September 16, 2009
- ^ ESDS Government, HSE webpages, retrieved September 16, 2009
- ^ Health Survey for England, Latest Trends, retrieved September 16, 2009
- ^ Department of Health, Introduction to the HSE
- ^ ESDS Government, HSE webpages