Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The aim of the Welsh Health Survey, 1998 (WHS) was to collect information on a cross-section of the population with a range of illnesses or disabilities and on similar groups of healthy people, without using any medical records. Its results provide a picture of the health and well-being of adults in Wales and their use of and satisfaction with health services. An earlier survey was conducted in 1995, but this is not held at the UK Data Archive. The 1998 WHS was the last to be conducted using this methodology. A new WHS series began in 2003-2004, but users should note that results from the new WHS survey are not comparable with those from the 1998 survey, because of differences in the questionnaires and survey methodology. The new WHS surveys are held at the UKDA under SNs 5692 (2003-2004), 5693 (2004-2005) and 5750 (2005-2006). Further information about the later WHS series, including links to publications, may be found on the Welsh Assembly Government's WHS web pages. For the second edition (February 2011), the Welsh Health Survey All Waves User Guide was added to the study documentation.

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The dataset contains details of responses to the survey (which was conducted by means of a self-completion postal questionnaire, completed by almost 30,000 adults), with a separate record for each respondent. It includes details about respondents' general health, specific illnesses for which they had been treated, use of the health service and satisfaction with the service provided, self-perceived physical and mental well-being (using SF-36 health status questions), and details about respondents and their lifestyle.

A variable sampling fraction was used, over-sampling in some geographical areas, to ensure an adequate sample size for each area. Results were weighted to take account of this. For further details please see Appendix 4 of the report.

Postal survey