Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Health Survey for England (HSE) is a series of surveys designed to monitor trends in the nation's health. It was commissioned by NHS Digital and carried out by the Joint Health Surveys Unit of the National Centre for Social Research and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London.The aims of the HSE series are:to provide annual data about the nation’s health;to estimate the proportion of people in England with specified health conditions;to estimate the prevalence of certain risk factors associated with these conditions;to examine differences between population subgroups in their likelihood of having specific conditions or risk factors;to assess the frequency with which particular combinations of risk factors are found, and which groups these combinations most commonly occur;to monitor progress towards selected health targetssince 1995, to measure the height of children at different ages, replacing the National Study of Health and Growth;since 1995, monitor the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children.The survey includes a number of core questions every year but also focuses on different health issues at each wave. Topics are revisited at appropriate intervals in order to monitor change. Further information about the series may be found on the NHS Digital Health Survey for England; health, social care and lifestyles webpage, the NatCen Social Research NatCen Health Survey for England webpage and the University College London Health and Social Surveys Research Group UCL Health Survey for England webpage. Changes to the HSE from 2015:Users should note that from 2015 survey onwards, only the individual data file is available under standard End User Licence (EUL). The household data file is now only included in the Special Licence (SL) version, released from 2015 onwards. In addition, the SL individual file contains all the variables included in the HSE EUL dataset, plus others, including variables removed from the EUL version after the NHS Digital disclosure review. The SL HSE is subject to more restrictive access conditions than the EUL version (see Access information). Users are advised to obtain the EUL version to see if it meets their needs before considering an application for the SL version.
The HSE 2008 provides data at both national and regional level about the population living in private households in England. The sample comprised two components: the core (general population) sample and a boost sample of children. The core sample was designed to be representative of the population living in private households in England. The reports for the 2008 survey may be found on the HSCIC HSE 2008 publications webpage. For the HSE core sample, all adults aged 16 years or older at each household were selected for the interview (maximum ten adults). However, a maximum of two children aged 0-15 were interviewed per household. For households with three or more children, interviewers selected two children at random. At boost addresses interviewers screened for households containing at least one child aged 2-15 years. For households which included eligible children, up to two were selected by the interviewer for inclusion in the survey. Interviewing was conducted throughout the year to take account of seasonal differences. New editions and changes over time:For the second edition (October 2010), an updated version of the individual-level file was deposited, with amended GHQ12 variables. The code for respondents who did not answer the GHQ12 questions is now set at '-1' rather than '0’.For the third edition (July 2011), the GHQ12 variables were further amended to correct errors in the GHQ12 scores. See document 'Note about GHQ12 problems in HSE Data' for details.For the fourth edition (August 2013), since publication of the HSE 2008 survey report, four survey participants (one household) have withdrawn their consent and had their records removed from the data. Therefore, the number of cases have now been reduced to 22,619 in the individual file and 31,923 in the household file. Consequently, users may not find it possible to reproduce some figures with the same degree of accuracy presented in the accompanying documentation.
Main Topics:
The primary focus of HSE 2008 was physical activity and fitness. Adults and children were asked to recall their physical activity over recent weeks, and objective measures of physical activity and cardiovascular fitness were also obtained. Data collection involved an interview, followed by a visit from a specially trained nurse for all those in the core sample who agreed. Both used computer assisted interviewing. The nurse visit included measurements and collection of blood and saliva samples, as well as additional questions. Children aged 13-15 were interviewed themselves, and parents of children aged 0-12 were asked about their children, with the child interview including questions on physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption. Standard Measures: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)
Multi-stage stratified random sample
Face-to-face interview
Self-completion
Clinical measurements
Physical measurements
CAPI
