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 2003 Health Survey for England (HSE03) consisted of a general population sample and was designed to provide data at both national and regional level about the population living in private households in England. All private households in the general population sample were eligible for inclusion in the survey (up to a maximum of three households per address). Up to two children aged 0-15 were interviewed in each household, as well as up to 10 adults aged 16 and over. Information was obtained directly from persons aged 13 and over. Information about children under 13 was obtained from a parent with the child present. An interview with each eligible person was followed by a nurse visit both using computer-assisted interviewing. At one sixth of the selected addresses the nurse visit was extended to include additional procedures. The survey was conducted throughout the year to take into consideration seasonal differences. For the second edition (April 2010), three new children's Body Mass Index (BMI) variables have been added to the individual data file (bmicat1, bmicat2, bmicat3). Further information is available in the documentation and on the Information Centre for Health and Social Care Health Survey for England web page.

Main Topics:

In 2003 the major focus of the survey was cardiovascular disease and related risk factors. Key modules covered cardiovascular disease (including questions about symptoms, diagnosed illness and use of services), and adult physical activity. Core questions covered smoking, drinking, psycho-social health (GHQ12), fruit and vegetable consumption, social support and social capital. The nurse visit was split into two sample types, standard and long. The standard nurse visit collected blood pressure measurements, saliva samples, waist and hip measurements and non-fasting blood samples. At one sixth of the selected addresses the nurse visit was extended to include a fasting blood sample (from those aged 35 and over) and a spot urine sample (from adults aged 16 and over). Standard Measures General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) EQ-5D Health State.

Multi-stage stratified random sample

Face-to-face interview

Self-completion

Clinical measurements

Physical measurements

CAPI