Health Survey for England:
Health, Social Care and
Lifestyles
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Copyright © 2013, Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Health Survey for England: Health, Social Care and Lifestyles
Introduction
The Health Survey for England (HSE) is a series of annual surveys about the health of people living
in England. The HSE began in 1991, and since 1994 the survey has been carried out by the Joint
Health Surveys Unit of NatCen Social Research and the Research Department of Epidemiology and
Public Health at UCL (University College London). The survey was originally commissioned by the
Department of Health and since 2005 by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), to
provide better and more reliable information about various aspects of people’s health and to monitor
selected health targets.
All surveys have covered the adult population aged 16 and over living in private households in
England. Children have been included every year since 1995. From survey year 2011 the HSE has
been renamed to reflect the inclusion of questions on social care within the HSCIC funded core to
‘Health Survey for England: Health, Social Care and Lifestyles’.
A number of core questions are included every year but each year’s survey also has a particular
focus on a disease or condition or population group. Topics are brought back at appropriate intervals
in order to monitor change. The survey combines questionnaire-based answers with physical
measurements and the analysis of blood samples. Blood pressure, height and weight, smoking,
drinking and general health are covered every year. An interview with each eligible person in the
household is followed by a nurse visit.
The Health Survey Steering Group (HSSG) oversees the HSE programme, which includes
representatives from HSCIC, DH, Public Health England, Directors of Public Health (DsPH), OGD’s,
Personal and Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU), Institute for Social and Economic Research
(ISER) and the UK Health Forum. The HSSG reports to HSCIC through the Director of Information
Services and provides regular updates to the higher level HSCIC Survey Programme Advisory Group
on progress.
The datasets from the Health Survey for England are available on the UK Data Service. It takes
around 3 months from publication for the latest datasets to be available. Full details on how to access
UK Data Service resources are available on the UK Data Service sign up page. If the data you
require is unavailable on the site please contact us at surveys.queries@hscic.gov.uk.
Health Survey for England Publications
HSE 2013:
The Health Survey for England 2013 report was published on 10 December 2014, findings from the
report and trend tables are available on the Health Survey for England 2013 Data Visualisation site:
 Report
 Trend Tables
The dataset is available on the UK Data Service.
HSE 2014:
Fieldwork is complete, with reporting expected to be in late 2015. As well as the HSCIC funded core
which covers social care, mental health and wellbeing, the survey also includes;
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Additional Social Care questions
Questions on Mental Health, including: self-reported/diagnosed MH problems and treatments,
self-harm including treatments and outcomes, and attitudes and associated stigma
WEMWBS Mental Health and Wellbeing module
Questions on the understanding of, and attitudes towards the provision for future care costs
and needs
Questions on Learning Disability
Questions on hearing, and hearing tests (included in the nurse visit)
Average Weekly Alcohol Consumption
Copyright © 2013, Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Health Survey for England: Health, Social Care and Lifestyles
HSE 2015:
The 2015 survey is now in the field, with reporting expected to be in late 2016. As well as the
HSCIC funded core which covers social care and fruit and vegetable consumption, the survey also
includes;
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WEMWBS Mental Health and Wellbeing module
Questions on Learning Disability
Questions on Problem Gambling
Average Weekly Alcohol Consumption
Questions on Varicella (shingles virus) and stroke
HSE 2016:
The contract to deliver the HSE for 2016 to 2019 (4 survey years) has been awarded to
NatCen Social Research. This has given the opportunity to review the core content of the survey to
ensure the data collected is still required, and fit for purpose. Discussions are currently on-going with
stakeholders and policy leads for 2016 fieldwork, taking responses to the recent HSE Consultation
into account.
The survey will be similar to previous surveys, to enable the continued monitoring of trend data over
time, it will collect information and health measures from a representative sample of the population of
England. An annual report will be published, and final datasets deposited in the UK Data Service for
further analysis under end user licence.
Earlier HSE Publications:
HSE 2012:
The Health Survey for England 2012 was published on 18 December 2013; findings from the report
and the trend tables are available on the Health Survey for England 2012 website:
 Report
 Trend Tables
The dataset is available on the UK Data Service.
HSE 2011:
The Health Survey for England 2011 report was published on 20 December 2012, the report and
trend tables are available on the HSCIC website:
 Report
 Trend tables
The dataset is available on the UK Data Service.
HSE 2010:
The Health Survey for England 2010 report was published on 15 December 2011. The report and
trend tables are available on the HSCIC website:
 Report
 Trend tables
The dataset is available on the UK Data Service.
HSE 2009:
The Health Survey for England 2009 report was published on 16 December 2010. The report and
trend tables are available on the HSCIC website:
 Report
 Trend tables
The dataset is available on the UK Data Service.
HSE 2008:
The Health Survey for England 2008 report was published on 17 December 2009. The report and
trend tables are available on the HSCIC website:
 Report
 Trend tables
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Copyright © 2013, Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Health Survey for England: Health, Social Care and Lifestyles
The dataset is available on the UK Data Service.
HSE 2007:
The Health Survey for England 2007 report was published on 16 December 2008. The report and
trend tables are available on the HSCIC website:
 Report
 Trend tables
The dataset is available on the UK Data Service.
HSE 2006:
The Health Survey for England 2006 report was published on 31 January 2008. The report and trend
tables are available on the HSCIC website:
 Report
 Trend tables
The dataset is available on the UK Data Service.
HSE 2005:
The Health Survey for England 2005 report was published on 23 March 2007. The report and trend
tables are available on the HSCIC website:
 Report
 Trend tables
The dataset is available on the UK Data Service.
HSE 2004:
The Health Survey for England 2004 report was published on 21 April 2006. The report and trend
tables are available on the HSCIC website:
 Report
 Trend tables
NB: An additional trend table on childhood obesity was added on 21 April 2006.
The dataset is available on the UK Data Service.
Earlier Health Survey for England results are available on the UK Government Web Archive.
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Copyright © 2013, Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Health Survey for England: Health, Social Care and Lifestyles
Survey Content: core topic coverage from 2011 – 2015
HSCIC funds a 50 minute core survey, which includes 5 minutes of social care questions and a
nurse examination. Some core topics feature every year, and some feature on a rotating basis –
see tables below.
Table 1: topics included in the core
The measures below are for adults and children, unless stated otherwise Annual?
Household size, composition, relationships
Accommodation, tenure, no. of bedrooms
Economic status/ occupation of household
reference person
Household questionnaire
Y
Household income
Type of dwelling and area
Smoking in the household
Car ownership
General health, long standing illnesses and
conditions
Smoking (adults)
Drinking (adults)
Socio-economic status, education etc
Interview
Y
Ethnicity
Consents for data linkage
Religion
SOCIAL CARE CONTENT
Sexual Orientation
Objective measures:
interviewer
Self completion
Interview
Height
Y
Weight
Smoking (children)
Y
Drinking (children)
Fruit and vegetable consumption
General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12)
Self completion
5
EQ5D health outcome/quality of life
questionnaire
Alternate years,
starting 2011
Alternate years,
starting 2012
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Health Survey for England: Health, Social Care and Lifestyles
Table 2: topics included in the Nurse-led visit
The measures below are for adults and children, unless stated otherwise Annual?
CAPI interview of 10 mins, covering prescribed medicines, Vitamin
supplements, folic acid, Nicotine replacement
Yes
Waist and hip measurements
Yes
Blood pressure measurements (including equipment)
Yes
Blood sample (non-fasting) collection and measurement of cholesterol (Total,
HDL) and glycated haemoglobin.
Yes
Saliva sample collection and measurement of cotinine - Children
Yes
Saliva sample collection and measurement of cotinine - Adult
Alternate years,
starting 2011
Urine collection and measurement of potassium, sodium and creatinine
Alternate years,
starting 2012
If you require any further information about the Health Survey for England please email
surveys.queries@hscic.gov.uk or enquiries@hscic.gov.uk.
The HSCIC Surveys team
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Copyright © 2013, Health and Social Care Information Centre.