Scottish Health Survey: dataset information

Data Access

The Scottish Health Survey results can be accessed via the reports and data tables  published on our reports and publications page.

Downloading datasets

The Scottish Health Survey datasets are available for download from the UK Data Service website.  The relevant survey documentation (questionnaires, showcards, interviewer instructions, coding lists and variable lists) can be downloaded alongside the data. 

The links to the left provide direct access to the relevant years’ data on the UK Data Service.

Combined year datasets

In addition to single year datasets,  datasets combining two or more years of data are available.  This is in order to provide a larger sample for more detailed analysis (including some geographical breakdowns) where the sample for a single year would not be large enough.  The combined datasets include a combined weight which will differ slightly from the weights for the individual years.  As such, the combined datasets should not be used to produce results for individual years.

Health Board level analysis is generally produced using four years’ worth of data combined in order to ensure a sufficiently large sample for each area.  Health Boards with larger samples will be able to analyse their own data more frequently.

Special datasets

Where the standard anonymised datasets do not contain all of the information you require for a specific project, a request to be provided with a special dataset can be submitted. 

Please note that access to such sensitive and confidential data is safeguarded by regulating access for non-commercial purposes only, and can only be used by the Scottish Government or other research agencies acting on behalf of, or with the agreement of, the Scottish government or associated bodies.

To apply for a special dataset, please complete the form available on the Scottish Government Statistics data access page.  This page also explains the process for considering such requests.

Follow-up research

Respondents to the Scottish Health Survey are asked if they would be willing to be re- contacted for follow-up research.   If you would like to apply to contact Scottish Health Survey participants for the purpose of follow-up research, please complete the form available on the Scottish Government Statistics data access age. 

Ad-hoc Requests

We offer an ad-hoc request service for analysis that is not available in our reports or published data tables.  If you wish to submit an ad-hoc request please contact us via scottish_health_survey@gov.scot.  Response times do vary depending on the complexity of the request and the resources available at the time.

SHeS datasets on the UK Data Service